


Café Pit-a-Pat (Book 2)

by kitkatdimples



Series: Café Pit-a-Pat [2]
Category: SBFIVE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dating, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25842802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatdimples/pseuds/kitkatdimples
Summary: Life at Café Pit-a-Pat is a little different now that the two oblivious lovebirds are finally together.
Relationships: Copter Panuwat Kerdthongtavee/Kimmon Varodom Khemmonta
Series: Café Pit-a-Pat [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875235
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> * Note: This is a continuation from "Café Pit-a-Pat (Book 1)". I recommend reading the first book before starting this.
> 
> * Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction using characters that are based on Kimmon and Copter (+ the rest of SBFIVE and Godt), but it really has nothing to do with their real selves.

**Chapter 1**

"Please?"

Mindlessly playing with the spoon in his hand, Copter stubbornly fixed his wavering gaze on the cup of frozen yogurt in front of him. He desperately needed to distract himself with something other than Kimmon because, otherwise, he knew that it wouldn't be too long until he gave in to his recurring pleads. 

"We already talked about this," Copter mumbled, still staring at anywhere but Kimmon. "The café's too far from my place."

"It's not far if I drive you there," Kimmon countered back in an instant. 

"But that's too much of a burden on you," Copter continued to resist. "You need to go out of your way to come pick me up."

"No, it's not a burden at all! I'll gladly do anything and everything to be able to spend more time with you."

Upon hearing those sweet words, Copter hesitantly shifted his gaze to meet Kimmon's. He immediately regretted it when his resolve started to weaken under Kimmon's imploring puppy eyes. 

"We see each other almost every evening," Copter pointed out.

"That's not enough," Kimmon said. "If I could have it my way, I'll be seeing you every second of my every day."

Kimmon subsequently laid his hand on Copter's, his thumb gently caressing the back of Copter's fingers. Copter bit his lips, helplessly staring right back into those deep midnight eyes that were becoming more and more difficult to withstand. 

After internally struggling for a few seconds, Copter whipped out his next counterargument. "But I can't concentrate."

Kimmon tilted his head sideways. "Concentrate?"

"I can't concentrate on working if you're with me," Copter clarified in a quiet voice. "I keep wanting to focus just on you."

Feeling heat rapidly rising to his cheeks, Copter turned his eyes away from Kimmon, way too embarrassed to face him after his honest confession. Notwithstanding his growing bashfulness, though, he had no intention of taking any of his words back because they were completely and utterly true. 

Ever since they began dating, Kimmon routinely arrived at the pub an hour or so before Copter finished his work shift. Not wanting to bother Copter while he was working, Kimmon quietly settled himself down in a corner seat as soon as he entered inside, patiently waiting for Copter to wrap up. Yet, despite Kimmon's good efforts, Copter found that he wasn't able to fully concentrate on his work whenever Kimmon was at the pub with him. Against his will, Copter's attention shamelessly kept wanting to stay on Kimmon the entire time. 

So, given that, how the hell was he supposed to properly work alongside Kimmon at Café Pit-a-Pat? No matter how many times he thought about it, Copter wasn't at all convinced that he could be a well-functioning employee. 

When the silence between them lasted longer than expected, Copter's curiosity won over his embarrassment and he chanced a quick peek at Kimmon. He couldn't help but let out a shy smile at the sight of Kimmon, whose entire face was radiating with overwhelming happiness. 

Tightening his hold on Copter's hand, Kimmon cleared his throat. He looked like he was trying to switch his expression to one of seriousness, despite the fact that his grin wouldn't leave his lips. 

"No, you're underestimating yourself, Copter. I know that you're a professional when it comes to your work," Kimmon firmly asserted. "And Café Pit-a-Pat needs you back. I'm saying this not as your boyfriend but as the owner of the café. Seriously, we're barely functioning without you! And everyone really misses you. Don't you miss them too?"

At Kimmon's question, memories of his time at Café Pit-a-Pat swept over Copter. His heart ached when he particularly recalled the smiling faces of Tae, Tee, Godt and Bas, who all had cared for him so very dearly during his months there. 

"I do," Copter softly admitted. "I really miss everyone."

"Then come back," Kimmon repeated, his tone pleading. "Please?"

Still feeling reluctant, Copter fell momentarily silent. On top of his concerns about working with Kimmon, he was also worried about how the others would react. Much to his regret, Copter lost contact with all of the Pit-a-Pat crew when he had left the shop and changed his phone number in an attempt to cut off ties with everyone. He could only imagine how upset they might be from his actions and wondered if everyone would actually welcome him back. 

"My wish!" Kimmon shouted out of the blue, ripping Copter away from his brooding thoughts.

"What?"

"Remember? You owe me a wish from my birthday."

Copter raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "And you're using it on this?"

"Yes, I'm that desperate," Kimmon acknowledged with a sheepish expression. "So please grant my wish and say yes?"

After meeting Kimmon's begging eyes for a few more lasting seconds, Copter finally realized that he couldn't turn Kimmon's request down any longer. Not only because he was proving to be ridiculously weak for his boyfriend, but also, in spite of all his worries, Copter really did miss his days at Café Pit-a-Pat, his time there being one of the happiest moments of his life. 

"Okay," Copter surrendered.

"Okay? You said okay, right?!" Kimmon asked back, immediately breaking out into a broadening smile. 

"But under one condition," Copter quickly added, curbing Kimmon's excitement. "Let's keep our relationship a secret."

Kimmon's face fell. "What? Why?!"

"I don't want the others to be uncomfortable because of us."

"But P'Tae and Tee are dating, and everyone's fine with that."

"P'Tae and P'Tee are different. We knew about them from the very beginning, so we're used to their dating in the workplace," Copter argued. "And I already told you that I have trouble focusing on my work when you're around me. So when we're working at the café, we should keep our distance. We should strictly be in a manager-employee relationship so that I'm actually able to work. Okay?"

"Okay," Kimmon ultimately gave in, even though he looked rather grumpy. 

Copter let out a relieved sigh. Although he could tell that Kimmon was obviously unhappy with his condition, he really didn't think that he could handle being Kimmon's boyfriend and employee at the same time unless they set such clear boundaries. 

Feeling slightly bad for causing Kimmon to frown, Copter tried to change topics. "P'Kim, do you not want any more?" he asked while dangling a spoonful of frozen yogurt. 

Kimmon shook his head. "I'm actually craving something else."

"Oh, you should have told me!" Copter exclaimed, his dark brown eyes widened. "We could have gotten that instead of this. What is it? Maybe we can go get it now."

Kimmon's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, and it'll be on me," Copter offered. "What do you want?"

Locking his gaze with Copter's curious one, Kimmon smiled. Then, without warning, he cupped Copter's chin in his palm and leaned in to kiss Copter's lips. 

"This," Kimmon whispered after pulling back an inch. "Sweeter than anything else in the world."

When Kimmon kissed him again, Copter finally recovered from his shock and jerked back. Flushed from head to toe, he silently gaped at Kimmon before frantically checking their current surroundings. Although not a lot of people went out to eat frozen yogurt at such a late hour, they still weren't the only ones inside this dessert shop. 

Copter inwardly groaned when his flustered eyes fell upon the employee who was casually standing behind the cash register. Judging by the knowing smirk on her face, he was more than certain that she had witnessed their intimate moment just now. 

"It's okay," Kimmon chuckled, looking amused by Copter's panicky behavior. "No one saw us. And who cares if they did?" 

Copter shot an exasperated glare at him. "What happened to being cool and sophisticated?"

Kimmon shrugged his shoulders. "Just catering to my boyfriend's preferences."

At Kimmon's goofy comeback, Copter couldn't suppress the fond smile that spread across his face. 

***

Swallowing back the sad sigh that threatened to come out of his mouth, Kimmon reluctantly parked his car in front of Copter's apartment. 

As of late, this particular moment proved to be the worst part of his entire day. It was the moment where he had to drop Copter off and was forced to part with him. Of course, he was keenly aware that his upset feelings were silly, given that he would be meeting Copter the following day. Yet, he really couldn't help his stupid lovesick self and his growing desire to be with his boyfriend for as long as possible.

At least, tonight proved to be a little more bearable because he had finally succeeded in persuading Copter to return back to Café Pit-a-Pat. That meant that, in the next coming days, Kimmon would be able to spend all his mornings and afternoons with Copter as well. He broke out into a wide grin at that wonderful thought, feeling very satisfied by his hard-fought victory. 

Unbeknownst to Copter, Kimmon mentally determined that once Copter was completely settled back into his life at Café Pit-a-Pat, he would push through with his next mission of convincing Copter to live with him again. Based on Copter's stubbornness, it would likely be much more difficult but was of utmost importance to Kimmon's continuing existence. 

Copter's sudden apology snapped Kimmon back from his scheming thoughts. 

"I'm sorry, P'Kim." 

Puzzled, Kimmon turned his head to meet Copter's apologetic eyes. "Sorry for what?"

"You must be so tired from always coming to meet me and dropping me off this late at night," Copter explained, looking extremely guilty. "I'm sorry." 

Feeling a twinge of pain in his heart, Kimmon silently stared at Copter, who dropped his distressed gaze down to his lap. It always hurt him to see Copter blaming himself for everything, which reminded Kimmon of all the unnecessary suffering that Copter must have gone through in order to have made him act like this. 

Instead of saying anything in response, Kimmon abruptly shortened the distance between them and brushed his lips against Copter's. 

"You need to learn how to stop saying that you're sorry for everything," Kimmon justified upon meeting Copter's bewildered eyes. "So I'm shushing you every time that you say it. Literally."

A blush evident on his features, Copter wordlessly gawked back at him for a long while. Kimmon just grinned, feeling pleased that he managed to redirect Copter's focus back to him and away from his dark inner emotions. 

"That isn't going to be effective," Copter eventually murmured, breaking their silence.

"Hmm?"

"How is that a punishment? It's like you're actually encouraging me to say the words."

It was now Kimmon's turn to gape at Copter, with his mouth slightly hanging open in shock. He definitely hadn't expected his usually shy boyfriend to say anything even remotely close to what he just said. Although, now that he actually thought about it, Kimmon had been increasingly noticing that Copter behaved much bolder when it was just the two of them by themselves. 

His cheeks still reddened, Copter promptly gave out a mischievous smile. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm not sorry for saying I'm sorry right now."

With that, Copter subsequently closed his eyes and puckered his lips a little, as if inviting Kimmon to make good on his threat and kiss him. 

_Fuck, he's going to be the death of me._

Not wasting another second, Kimmon immediately dived in to capture that sweet mouth with his own. Feeling Copter's body loosen, he traced his tongue across the bottom of Copter's lip before delving inside. The world slowly disappeared around them as they deepened their kiss, getting lost in each other for what seemed like an eternity. 

"You're right," Kimmon breathed while resting his forehead against Copter's. "I'll have to think of something else then."

"Mm-hmm," Copter acknowledged with a soft giggle. 

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Why are you back? I was under the impression that you never wanted to talk to us again."

The icy tone of Tee's lowered voice thickened the already suffocating tension in the air. Flinching at those sharp words, Copter hung his head down, looking like he was consumed with guilt.

Biting back a sigh, Tae silently watched the unfolding scene ahead of him. Unlike the others who appeared caught off guard by Tee's sudden hostility, Tae had actually predicted that Tee would react like this if Copter were to ever return, especially given how upset Tee had been when he had lost contact with Copter. 

"Tee," Kimmon tried to intervene, distress evident on his features upon seeing Copter look like a kicked puppy.

Tae immediately grabbed onto Kimmon's shoulder, preventing him from walking towards Copter. At Kimmon's defiant expression, Tae shook his head and mouthed a silent " _no_ " back at him. He did the same to Godt and Bas, who looked utterly thrown by the situation and kept helplessly staring at Tae as if begging for him to step in. 

Of course, Tae felt quite bad for Copter as well, but he also knew that any attempts to stop Tee's tirade right now would only worsen the entire situation. Plus, based on all the years that he spent with Tee, he recognized that Tee wasn't really angry at the moment. Truth be told, Tee had been worried rather than furious when Copter tried to cut off ties with them, and Tae could tell that deep down inside, Tee was super happy to see Copter again. 

He just needed a few more minutes to let out all his heated emotions. 

"Is this like the new trend at this café?" Tee continued to rant, his arms flailing for extra emphasis. "Suddenly quitting and then suddenly returning after a few weeks? Is it my turn next?! Should I leave now?!"

"Come on, Tee. Don't do that to me. If you leave, then this café would really have to shut down," Kimmon eventually interfered, trying to sound lighthearted although concern was dripping from his voice. 

Tee shot an irritated glare at Kimmon. "Well, you don't have to worry because I'll be back before you know it. Just like Copter here, I'll cut off contact for a few weeks, but I'll be sure to make a surprise comeback."

"Seriously, Tee, that's enough," Kimmon asserted, a frown appearing on his face as he glanced over at Copter.

This time, Tae didn't stop Kimmon from moving towards Copter, correctly guessing that his attempts to do so would be useless based on Kimmon's overly protective expression. Before Kimmon could get to him, though, Copter finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, P'Tee," Copter apologized while hesitantly meeting Tee's eyes. "You don't have to forgive me, but I...I wanted you to know that I really regret my actions."

After providing his sincere apology, Copter quickly dropped his dejected gaze back to the ground, completely missing how Tee's face visibly softened thereafter. 

"Damn it, Cop. Why are you saying that I don't have to forgive you? You actually thought that was possible?" Tee quietly muttered under his breath.

Not waiting for Copter to respond to his questions, Tee abruptly marched towards Copter. Once he was within his reach, Tee subsequently cupped Copter's cheeks in his palms and lifted Copter's startled face up. 

"And why the hell did you lose so much weight?! As if you weren't freaking skinny enough," Tee chided as soon as their gazes locked. "You haven't been eating properly, have you?!"

"I'm sorry, P'Tee," Copter repeated, his dark brown eyes tearing up. 

Tee sniffled, looking close to tears upon meeting Copter's wet gaze. "Then don't do that ever again, alright?! You know how worried sick I was?! And I was right to be, seeing how you look like you haven't been taking care of yourself. So you can't do that ever again. From now on, you be sure to stay in touch with me whenever and wherever. Okay?"

"Okay," Copter promised in a second flat. He then wrapped his arms around Tee and buried his face against Tee's chest. "I missed you, P'Tee."

At Copter's sweet confession, any remaining traces of upset on Tee's face completely melted away. Tightly returning the hug, Tee broke out into a touched smile and whispered back a " _I missed you too_ ". 

Appearing relieved at their reconciliation, Bas instantly stepped closer to them and demanded his share of Copter's attention. "What about me, P'Ter? Did you miss me?"

Shifting his head slightly to meet Bas's eyes, Copter chuckled. "Of course I missed you Bas." 

Laughing in sheer delight, Bas immediately squashed Copter from behind. After securely capturing Copter in the middle, Tee and Bas began to playfully sway their bodies to and fro. 

Grinning at the adorable sight in front of him, Tae promptly exchanged glances with Godt and Kimmon, who matched his scheming smile. Without delay, the three of them ran towards the cuddled trio and piled themselves on, turning it into a massive group hug. 

Upon hearing Copter's giggling squeals, they all burst into laughter and tightened their hold around him. 

***

After tying his dark walnut-colored apron around his waist, Copter took a brief moment to stare into the wall mirror hanging in the locker room. He smiled upon seeing himself in the café's signature uniform of a light beige dress shirt and ebony black pants. 

_Finally._

Euphoria swelled within him. He was finally back, finally reunited with the Pit-a-Pat family who he had missed so much over the past several weeks. 

"Welcome back, Copter."

At the sudden voice, Copter jerked his head to his side. He saw Godt standing a few steps away, with a soft smile aimed right at him. 

"Thank you, P'Godt," Copter said, returning a happy smile.

"You look like you got a little more used to it," Godt noted.

Confused at Godt's seemingly cryptic statement, Copter tilted his head sideways. "Used to what?"

"Being loved," Godt answered. He paused for a few seconds while fixing his tender gaze on Copter. "I'm glad that you're back."

Feeling his heart warming up, Copter beamed. "Me too."

"Hey guys," a third voice jumped in. 

Recognizing the familiar voice, Copter anxiously turned his head towards it. In line with his expectations, he found Kimmon emerging through the doorway. Upon the sight of Kimmon, Copter unknowingly lit up even more. 

"We're opening in ten minutes," Kimmon continued to say, his gaze settled on Godt. 

"I'll get back to my station," Godt said before making his way out of the locker room. 

Kimmon flashed a thankful smile towards Godt before shifting his eyes to Copter. "Copter, you'll be serving the second floor today." 

Enthusiasm apparent on his face, Copter readily nodded. "Okay, I'll get ready."

Eager to start his work at the café again, Copter strode briskly towards the door. Yet, before he could reach his destination, Kimmon's firm hand abruptly caught his shoulder, holding him back. 

"Your apron is crooked."

"What?"

Without another word, Kimmon gently turned Copter around so that his back was towards him. Copter blinked in puzzled silence as he felt Kimmon's fingers slowly undo his apron string and retie it around him.

"Are you done?" Copter asked after a while, sensing that the apron was secured around his waist once again. 

Instead of saying anything in response, though, Kimmon tightly hugged Copter from behind. Cradling him close to his chest, he then nestled his nose deep into Copter's neck. At the sudden contact, Copter's heart jumped miles high. 

"We're at work," Copter reminded him in a hushed voice, his nervous eyes darting over to the closed door. 

"But no one else is here," Kimmon justified, his lips whispering against Copter's flushed skin. 

When Kimmon began to feather kisses all over the side of his neck, Copter inhaled a sharp breath. Trying to ignore his wildly racing heart, he frantically clutched the strong arms around him. 

"P'Kim," Copter said, a hint of warning in his tone. "You remember my condition, right?"

Halting his trail of countless kisses, Kimmon heaved out a miserable sigh. "I remember." 

After loosening his grip, Kimmon reluctantly distanced himself and whipped Copter back around so that they were facing each other. Spotting the sulkiness on Kimmon's face, Copter showed an apologetic smile, in hopes of lifting Kimmon's spirits. Yet, contrary to his goal, Kimmon's expression turned dead serious.

"Khun Copter," Kimmon said, his voice feigning authority. "As my best employee, I expect great things from you."

Feeling relieved, Copter played along and offered an exaggerated salute. "I won't disappoint you, Boss!"

Copter let out a satisfied giggle when Kimmon finally gave him a bright smile, accompanied by deep midnight eyes that were twinkling with endless affection. 

***

"Is this really necessary?" 

Unable to keep himself from grumbling out loud, Kimmon pointedly glared at Tee and Bas, who proved to be the culprits of this worrisome crisis. 

While casually shrugging his shoulders, Tee shot down Kimmon's concern. "Of course it is. We're celebrating Copter's return. And what's a celebration without unlimited food and drinks?"

"Here, here!!!" Bas zealously agreed in an instant.

Kimmon's frown intensified. 

By all means, Kimmon was all for celebrating Copter's comeback, especially since he knew that it would make Copter even happier. Yet, what he failed to understand was why this celebratory process had to involve alcohol. Obviously, though, Tee and Bas begged to differ from Kimmon's opinion on the matter, given that they had dragged the entire Pit-a-Pat crew to a nearby pub as soon as the café closed for the day and had immediately ordered an infinite amount of alcoholic drinks for the table. 

Unfazed by Kimmon's nonstop glowering, Tee excitedly gestured for everyone to raise their glasses. "Let's get started!" 

"P'Tee," Copter started to say after taking a quick glimpse at Kimmon's sullen expression. "I think I'll pass on the alcohol."

"Why? Are you worried about getting drunk?" Tee asked. 

"Yeah," Copter sheepishly admitted. "You know that I'm not that good with alcohol." 

"It's okay!" Tee quickly reassured him. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Yeah, it's okay!" Bas chimed in. "We'll take care of you if you get drunk. So you don't have to worry at all!" 

Not giving Copter a chance to protest any further, Tee and Bas shoved an alcoholic drink into Copter's hands. Meeting their expectant stares, Copter let out an awkward smile, looking quite conflicted. 

Upon detecting the glaring mischief on Bas and Tee's smiling faces, Kimmon finally snapped. Before anyone could stop him, he snatched Copter's glass and emptied its contents into his own mouth. 

"If you won't let him pass, then I'm taking all his shots," Kimmon declared after slamming the cup back down on the table. 

Tee looked lost and disgruntled at the same time. "What? Why?"

"Because he's my..."

Kimmon trailed off when his gaze met Copter's panicked one. 

_Oh shit._

Although he honestly didn't see the point of hiding their relationship from the others, Kimmon definitely wasn't inclined to disappoint his precious boyfriend. Who was currently gaping at him with the most adorable deer-in-the-headlights look that he ever saw in his life and unintentionally making this even more difficult for him. 

Resisting an urge to just grab Copter and kiss him breathless, Kimmon cleared his throat. 

"Employee," Kimmon lamely finished. "Because he's my employee, and I'm his manager."

No one seemed impressed by Kimmon's ridiculous answer, except for Copter who appeared rather at ease. Blatantly tuning out Bas's loud snort that followed, Kimmon attempted to explain. 

"I'm the one who convinced him to come back to the café. And I'm a very responsible manager, okay? I'm not going to just watch him get wasted on his first day back."

Tee cast a skeptical eye at him. "So you're going to take all his shots?"

"Yup," Kimmon confirmed.

"And you won't regret that decision?"

"Nope."

"Well, we'll have to see about that."

Releasing a relentless smile, Tee promptly raised his drink towards Kimmon. Recognizing Tee's invitation to a drinking competition, Kimmon pursed his lips. He felt a strong inkling that this might not be a great idea, but it certainly beat risking Copter's sobriety and there was just no fucking way that he was going to share his Copter's drunken state with anyone else.

_Bring it on._

Determination written all over his face, Kimmon clinked his drink against Tee's. After locking their confident gazes for a few seconds, they both downed their drinks in one go. 

***

While checking the time on her phone for the millionth time, Mai hurriedly sprinted to the pub ahead of her. Caught up in a last-minute work call, she unfortunately had to come an hour late to Copter's welcoming party, and she didn't want to waste another second that could be spent with her favorite dimpled Nong. 

After rushing through the entrance, Mai impatiently searched all the tables. Upon catching sight of her friends, she let out an excited grin and ran over in a flash. Yet, her footsteps started to slow down, more and more as she approached their table and got a closer look at everyone. _Because...what the actual fuck?!_

Mai's mouth fell open as her alarmed eyes processed the hectic situation in front of her. A tired-looking Tae was trying his best to hold on to a clearly drunk Tee, who kept laughing hysterically and singing Christmas carols. Wearing an extremely flustered expression, Bas was in the process of continuously poking his finger at Godt, who looked completely dead to the world. And... 

"Hi, P'Mai," Copter said when her shocked gaze ultimately landed on him. 

"What the hell happened?!" Mai yelped. 

Her eyes almost popped out when she discovered Kimmon, who was peacefully sleeping on Copter's shoulder. Looking like he was not at all bothered by the crazy ruckus around him, Kimmon snuggled deeper into Copter, who carefully shifted his position to give him more comfort. 

"He's wasted, isn't he?" Mai asked, fresh realization in her voice.

"I think so," Copter confirmed. 

***


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Mai faced one of the greatest dilemmas in her entire life. 

She glanced at her right. An unconscious Godt was currently sprawled all over Bas and thoroughly crushing the smaller man in that process. Mai frowned. She was pretty sure that if this dangerous scene continued, she would witness someone's death very soon, that someone being obviously Godt. 

In line with her expectations, Bas finally snapped and threw Godt off of him, making him violently crash on the ground. Tae, who had been busy shushing his drunk boyfriend from his obnoxiously loud singing, gasped at the sight. Upon seeing Tae's subsequent look of disapproval, Bas let out a frustrated sigh before attempting to pick a motionless Godt back up again. 

She glanced at her left. A half-conscious Kimmon was currently clinging with all his might onto Copter, who looked like he was about to lose his balance anytime now. As Copter struggled to stand up straight, Kimmon leaned his face into Copter's and whispered something into his ear. At Kimmon's words, Copter bit his lips and turned completely scarlet from head to toe.

Mai narrowed her wary eyes, having finally made up her mind. Although she was worried about the Bas-killing-Godt-any-minute-now situation, there was no way in hell that she was going to allow her idiotic best friend to corrupt her precious baby Nong. 

_No. Fucking. Way._

Trusting Tae to keep Godt alive for the time being, Mai immediately stomped her way over to Kimmon and Copter. "Need a hand?" she offered as soon as she was within talking distance.

A blush still evident on his features, Copter gave out a welcoming smile. "Hi, P'Mai." His smile fell a little, though, when Kimmon started to burrow his face into his neck. 

Mai resisted an urge to smack the back of her friend's head. "Kimmon's being a pain in the ass, huh? I'll get him off your hands and take him home." 

"Oh, um..." Copter trailed off.

Before Copter could finish voicing his thoughts, Kimmon suddenly tightened his hold around Copter and wrenched him impossibly closer. He then shifted his gaze to Mai, who met Kimmon's darkened eyes with a startled expression. 

"Mine," Kimmon growled, his tone threatening. "He's mine." 

Copter broke the ensuing silence with an awkward chuckle. "P'Kim is drunk," he frantically blurted out, as if he was trying to explain Kimmon's weird behavior. "Very drunk!" 

Recovering from her initial shock, Mai threw a murderous glare at Kimmon, who was totally unfazed and proceeded to plant his face in Copter's hair. 

_Did he just fucking growl at me?!_

Rather surprisingly, this was actually the first time that Mai had ever seen Kimmon completely boozed up, given that he held his liquor extremely well. She never would have guessed that Kimmon would turn out to be such a horny animal when he got drunk. 

"Kimmon Varodom," Mai snarled out through gritted teeth. "Stop harassing poor Copter and come with me." 

Intending to drag Kimmon away from Copter, she reached out her hand to grab Kimmon's collar. Yet, she froze with her arm in the air when Copter released a sudden deafening yelp. 

"P'Mai, it'okay! I'll take P'Kim home!!!"

Bewildered, Mai subsequently turned her attention to Copter, who briefly met Mai's questioning gaze before avoiding her eyes altogether. 

"He got this drunk because he was taking all my shots. So...so I should take responsibility and get him back home," Copter stammered, appearing more and more flustered by the second. 

Slowly coming back from her momentary stupor, Mai carefully observed the two men in front of her. Kimmon continued to latch himself onto Copter, as if their overly close proximity at the moment wasn't nearly enough, but Copter didn't make any motions to stop Kimmon from doing so. In fact, Copter was now wrapping his arms around Kimmon protectively, as if he was worried that someone was going to take Kimmon away from him. 

As if Copter was worried that Mai was going to steal Kimmon away. 

She blinked.

_Oh._

"You sure you're gonna be alright by yourself?" Mai asked, a hint of hesitation in her voice. 

Relief took over Copter's face in a flash. "Of course!" 

"Okay then," Mai conceded, her suspicions confirmed. "But kick him in the balls if he does anything stupid," she added, unable to suppress her motherly nature over Copter.

Judging by his adorably baffled expression, Copter didn't have a clue as to what she was trying to get at. Feeling a bit defeated, Mai just smiled and left the two lovers to themselves, not at all wanting to be a nosy third wheel. 

In any event, she felt very happy for them, especially for her dear friend who had been noticeably pining over Copter for the longest time now. Despite her sincere congratulations, though, she was definitely going to kick Kimmon's ass for not telling her about their newly established relationship in advance. 

"He's still alive, right?" Mai inquired as she went back to the Bas-murdering-Godt-crisis. Her frightened eyes settled on Godt, who looked like he was dumped on the floor once again by a fuming Bas. 

"For now," Tae confirmed.

Mai let out a long-suffering sigh. "I'll take care of them. You just deal with your musical prodigy there," she said while gesturing to Tee, who was now enthusiastically belting out the lyrics of ' _Into the Unknown_ '.

Looking weary to no end, Tae returned a thankful smile before tugging a resisting Tee back into his arms.

***

"You stupid giant. Why the fuck are you so freaking heavy?!" Bas complained for the billionth time. 

After successfully entering Godt's apartment, Bas was trying his best to avoid being smashed to death as he grappled with keeping Godt up against the wall. Mai rolled her eyes in exasperation, feeling exhausted from hearing Bas's nonstop ranting for the past hour. 

"You do know that he's knocked out and not hearing a word that you're saying?" Mai pointed out while busily spreading out Godt's mattress on the floor. 

Bas responded back with a disgruntled hmph, which made Mai laugh. She flicked her gaze to the pair in order to check in on them. A satisfied smile formed on her lips when she noted that, despite all his endless grumbling, Bas wasn't attempting to furiously hurl Godt at the ground again. 

"Bas, I'm actually surprised that you volunteered to take Godt home," Mai said. "I was under the impression that you didn't like the guy." 

"I don't like him! I'm just being...responsible. I mean, I didn't know that he was really going to pass out from a sip of alcohol," Bas grumpily revealed. "Like who the fuck does that?!?!"

Mai's eyebrows rose. "Wait...did you spike his drink?"

"I thought he was lying!" Bas justified, guilt seeping through his voice.

Feeling a pang of pity for Godt, Mai shook her head. At least, Bas was taking responsibility for his dumb actions, and she was quite certain that after this painful experience, Bas would make sure to never get Godt drunk ever again. 

As soon as Mai was done laying out the mattress, Bas wobbled over to her, with Godt heavily leaning on his shoulder. Concerned that they were going to topple over before reaching their final destination, Mai quickly stepped towards them with the intention of giving Bas a helping hand. Yet, she was too late. Before she knew it, Bas tripped and fell unceremoniously down to the ground, dragging Godt along with him. 

Mai rushed over to them in an instant. "Are you okay?!"

Her hurried footsteps faltered, though, when her eyes closely processed the unexpected situation ahead of her. 

Unfortunately for him, Godt had acted as a cushion for their fall, with Bas landing right on top of him. However, to everyone's shock (well, other than Godt who remained unconscious), Bas's face happened to be positioned against Godt's in a way that forced their mouths to meet together. 

Bas ended up being the first to react. "What the fuck?!?!" he screamed, detaching himself from Godt in a second flat. He then swung his hand at full force and slapped Godt across the face. Hard. 

Mai would have burst out laughing if she wasn't so scared for Godt's safety. "Bas, that's enough!" she scolded him, preventing Bas from slapping Godt again. 

Finally aware of his ridiculous reaction, Bas scrambled away from Godt and stood up stiffly. He looked anywhere but Mai, who couldn't suppress an amused smirk at the sight of Bas blushing like crazy. 

"Don't worry, Bas," Mai eventually said in a reassuring voice. "I won't tell anyone about your lovely kiss with Godt if you help me move him to the mattress." 

Flinching, Bas threw a menacing glare at her. "It's not a kiss!!!" When Mai playfully wiggled her eyebrows, he exploded. "IT'S NOT!!! STOP LAUGHING!!!"

Although tempted, Mai refrained from teasing Bas any further. "Okay, okay. Come on, let's get this over with so that we can both go home."

She bit back a knowing smile when Bas reluctantly came to her side and blushed harder upon seeing Godt. 

***

"Copter?"

At the sound of Kimmon's voice, Copter stopped pouring water into the cup that he was holding in his hand and turned his head. His startled eyes immediately settled on Kimmon, who was lying down comfortably on his bed and staring back at him. 

Kimmon had fallen asleep on their way back to the apartment and hadn't woken up when Copter had carefully laid him down on the bed. Consequently, Copter was quite convinced that Kimmon would finally remain sleeping for the rest of the night, but Kimmon proved him wrong just now. 

"Hi P'Kim," Copter eventually said with a soft smile.

Kimmon kept his unwavering gaze fixed on Copter. "Am I dreaming?"

After setting the half-full cup down on the nightstand, Copter strode to the bed. "Maybe," he answered in a teasing tone.

"Either way, it's perfect," Kimmon said, a content smile hanging on his lips. He reached out to hold Copter's hand in his and linked their fingers together. "As long as you're here with me."

Copter affectionately squeezed Kimmon's hand back before he realized that Kimmon seemed to be less drunk than before, which meant that this was his first chance to scold the other man for his rash behavior tonight. Brushing off all of Copter's efforts to stop him, Kimmon had engaged in a stupid drinking competition with Tee, the results of which were horrific for everyone there because both of them became drunk beyond control. 

After clearing his throat, Copter put on his best serious face, hoping that it looked intimidating enough. "P'Kim, why did you drink so much?" 

Seemingly unfazed by Copter's attempts to look reproachful, Kimmon just broadened his smile. "I can't let them see you drunk."

Copter visibly deflated at Kimmon's response, a slight frown working its way across his brow. "Am I that horrible?" 

"Hmm?"

"Am I that horrible when I'm drunk?" Copter clarified.

Copter dropped his gaze as a familiar rush of guilt and self-disappointment began to flood over him. He really had no right to chastise Kimmon when it was all his freaking fault. From the very start, he should have firmly rejected Tee and Bas's demands for him to drink alcohol. If he wasn't such a despicable drunk, Kimmon wouldn't have taken all his shots and then he wouldn't have gotten this wasted and now Kimmon was probably going to suffer through a hellish hangover in the morning and... 

"No, it's the complete opposite," Kimmon stated, cutting off Copter's miserable thoughts. 

Copter jerked his confused gaze back to Kimmon. "Huh? But you said that I say mean things when I'm drunk." 

He clearly recalled when Kimmon had told him about the time that he got drunk at their Pit-a-Pat workshop last year. Specifically, he had hurt Kimmon's feelings by calling him a fucking asshole and saying that he hated his guts. Horrified that he had expressed such hateful and untrue statements without having any recollection of it, Copter had deliberately stayed away from drinking alcohol ever since. 

"I lied," Kimmon confessed. "You kissed me that night when you were drunk." 

"What?"

"Just like this."

Before Copter could fully process what was going on, Kimmon snaked his hand around the back of Copter's head and abruptly yanked him down. Eyes wide and heart galloping, Copter felt Kimmon's sweet lips on his own. 

"Gave me a heart attack, just like that," Kimmon whispered after pulling back slightly, his loving gaze trapping Copter's surprised one. 

"I don't remember," Copter managed to say, his brain still spinning wildly to make sense of the situation. 

"You kissed me again the second time you got drunk."

"I...I don't remember."

Copter blushed when Kimmon's words finally sank in all the way and made him feel even more ashamed of himself. So, in reality, he actually became some sort of kissing monster when he got drunk?! 

_Isn't that a whole lot worse?!_

His fingers gently caressing Copter's reddened cheek, Kimmon chuckled. "It's okay because I remember. Everything. And I'm not letting that happen to anyone else." 

Not giving Copter a chance to respond, Kimmon wound his arms around Copter and pulled him down completely, forcing Copter to fall on top of him. Without delay, he then captured his lips again, this time for a heated kiss. 

"You're mine," Kimmon declared as he kissed a trail away from Copter's mouth and down over his jaw. "All mine."

Copter trembled when he felt Kimmon sucking and dragging his teeth over a patch of skin on the nape of his neck. He unconsciously tilted his head back, encouraging the other man to continue nipping at the exposed skin. Although he would likely regret it later, he really couldn't care any less about it at the moment, not when there was a frenzied heat racing through his veins. 

After marking Copter to his satisfaction, Kimmon flipped them over so that Copter was laying on his back. "Promise me that you won't get drunk unless I'm there with you," he said, his hazed eyes staring intently down into Copter's.

"I promise," Copter whispered, bringing his hand up to thread his fingers through Kimmon's tangled locks. "Only if you promise the same." 

Kimmon grinned. "I promise," he promptly agreed, catching Copter's hand and pressing it against his cheek. "Stay with me tonight?"

"I wasn't planning on leaving," Copter admitted, releasing a giggle when Kimmon nuzzled his face against his captured hand.

Without warning, Copter cupped his other free hand around the back of Kimmon's neck and pressed it down towards him. He could feel Kimmon smiling against his lips before covering his mouth with his, kissing him passionately. 

In the slightest chance that Kimmon didn't remember any of this when he woke up in the morning, it was okay as far as Copter was concerned. This time around, he would gladly be the one to remember. _Everything._

*** 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

After thoroughly scanning the area and making sure that no one was watching him, Kimmon covertly made his way over to the café's storage room. In line with his expectations, he found Copter inside, who looked rather preoccupied with his task of retrieving bags of ground coffee beans.

"Copter."

Upon hearing Kimmon's call of his name, Copter turned around. His eyes slightly widened when they settled on Kimmon.

"P'Kim?"

Wearing a smile, Kimmon kept his gaze on Copter while quietly closing the door behind him.

Despite not fully understanding why Copter was so adamant on hiding their relationship from the others, Kimmon had obediently complied with his boyfriend's request for the past week or so. If he had to give himself a self-assessment, overall, he thought that he had done a pretty satisfying job so far.

For the most part, Kimmon behaved himself at work, acting as though he was merely Copter's friendly manager/close brotherly P'. Even though everyone in the Pit-a-Pat crew seemed to already suspect that the two of them were dating (or very close to it), Kimmon still took extra caution, not doing anything that would confirm their suspicions.

Sometimes, though, he really couldn't help himself.

Unable to hold back any longer, Kimmon immediately rushed forward and trapped Copter in his arms.

Copter tensed. "P'Kim!" he squealed in a hushed voice. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm charging myself up," Kimmon hummed while tightening his hold.

"What?"

"My battery's running low, so I need to charge it."

Copter paused for a brief second, seemingly taking a moment to process Kimmon's words. "You're saying that I'm your charger?" he finally asked, sounding half-skeptical and half-amused. 

"My one and only," Kimmon happily confirmed.

A feeling of sweet satisfaction washed over him when he heard Copter's adorable giggles that followed right after.

"That's so lame, P'Kim," Copter complained in between his laughing.

"But it's true," Kimmon said. "And I know that you like it."

Copter gave out a mock groan. "You're wrong," he quickly denied.

"Really?"

Pulling back slightly, Kimmon cradled Copter's cheeks in his palms while putting on an investigative expression. Copter held his gaze with those twinkling dark chocolate eyes that always took down his defenses, making it very difficult for Kimmon to keep a straight face.

"You're smiling and blushing at the same time," Kimmon pointed out, barely managing to fake a serious composure. "I think that means I'm right."

"Fine, you're right," Copter eventually surrendered in a grumpy tone, although he was still smiling. "Good talk. Now go away, P'. We need to get back to work."

When Copter began to gently push him away, Kimmon frantically dove back into him, hugging him close.

"Wait! Just a little bit longer," Kimmon pleaded desperately. "I'm still recharging."

He plastered on his sad puppy face when Copter tried to move away from him again. Judging by the way Copter hesitated, his tactic seemed to work, much to his satisfaction. Not wanting to miss his small window of opportunity, Kimmon got ready to tug Copter back into his arms, intending to keep him there forever.

He didn't know, though, that Copter had something else in mind.

Unexpectedly, Copter leaned in and brushed his lips against Kimmon's. "There. Now you're fully charged," he shyly declared after drawing back a little, his cheeks flushing.

Caught off guard, Kimmon helplessly stared at his smiling boyfriend for a while. He wondered yet again how someone could be so freaking cute and lovable, more and more with no end in sight. After allowing his spluttering heart a moment to recover a bit, he firmly shook his head.

"No?" Copter asked. Still looking shy, he pecked Kimmon's lips a couple more times. "What about now?"

Shaking his head again, Kimmon bent down towards Copter so that their faces were leveled. He then closed his eyes and puckered his lips, encouraging more. Releasing a soft chuckle, Copter played along and feathered light kisses all over Kimmon's beaming face.

"Okay, that's enough..." Copter started to say after giving Kimmon one last peck on the mouth.

It wasn't though.

Kimmon doubted that he would ever get enough of him.

Cupping the back of Copter's neck with his hand, Kimmon instantly brought Copter's lips back to his own, muffling his next words. Before Copter could even think about resisting, he deepened their kiss, wanting to taste his intoxicating sweetness more fully. His heart swelled with a rush of happiness when Copter kissed back, easily parting his mouth and letting Kimmon in.

They stayed lost in each other for what felt like an eternity until the sound of the door bursting open, followed by a shocked gasp, dragged them back to their reality.

Startled, they both jerked their heads towards the sudden intrusion. Looking like he was about to faint, Tee was gawking back at them, standing frozen at the open door.

"Oh my god," Tee whispered.

A heavy silence consumed the room, during which none of them seemed to be able to figure out how to react.

His arms still unconsciously wrapped around Copter, Kimmon slowly blinked at Tee. Panic began to seep in when he realized that he just got himself into some deep shit, the kind that might involve his precious boyfriend getting pissed off at him.

Tee ultimately broke the quiet. "OH MY GOD!" he yelped out again, this time in a deafening volume that probably reached the ears of everyone else in the café. 

_Oh fuck._

***

"Wait a minute," Tee paused, looking around at everyone with a confused expression. "Why am I the only one who's surprised by this?!"

"Because no one else is. We all already knew," Bas calmly revealed.

Shock overcoming his features, Tee dropped his jaw. "What?!"

Feeling increasingly amused by the situation in hand, Bas watched Tee searching Godt's and Tae's faces for confirmation of what he just heard. Godt nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders in response, whereas Tae guiltily avoided any eye contact with Tee.

Betrayal surfaced on Tee's face. "P'Tae, you knew too?!"

"Oh come on, P'Tee," Bas intervened, attempting to rescue Tae from Tee's upset ranting that would presumably follow. "I can't believe you didn't know. They were so obvious! Seriously, you're way denser than P'Ter."

Looking extremely offended by Bas's words, Tee placed a hand over his chest, acting as though he'd just been stabbed in the heart. "That's the meanest insult that I ever heard."

Biting back a laugh, Bas glanced over at Copter, hoping to see him react with his signature cute pout. To his disappointment, though, it seemed that Tee's indirect blow went right past Copter, likely because he was too distraught with his _getting-caught-in-the-act-by-Tee_ situation. Still looking beyond embarrassed, Copter continued to cast his gaze down to the ground as he stood beside Kimmon.

Copter's boyfriend stood up for him instead. "Copter's not dense," Kimmon declared while proudly looping his arm around Copter's waist, pulling him closer towards him.

"Says the densest guy in the universe," Bas taunted in a second flat, feeling the urge to wipe off the smugness from Kimmon's features. 

His remark successfully earned a huge frown from Kimmon and amused chuckles from Tae and Tee. Copter still looked adorably shy, seeming to be unaware of all the teasing going on around him. And Godt...

Bas froze when he actually got a close look at Godt's face. With his eyes completely fixed on Copter, he was wearing an empty expression. 

_But was it really empty?_

As he stared at Godt, Bas could gradually detect the hidden emotions that were masked behind that blankness, all the subtle hints of hurt and longing that Godt was probably locking inside of himself. Godt's agitated voice from their past conversation began to ring in his ears.

_'I'd be lying if I say that I don't wish for more, but I decided to give up on him. It's going to take a while, though, for my heart to catch up to that decision. For a while, I'm going to feel my heart exploding in happiness each and every time he smiles at me. For a while, I'm going to miss him even during the times that I'm looking at him. For a while, I'm going to suffer miserably as I watch him be in love with someone else. So, for that while, just leave me be. Please.'_

"But why didn't you just tell us?" Tee asked, breaking Bas away from his recollection.

Copter finally lifted his head to face the others. "I asked P'Kim to keep it a secret," he admitted.

Tee scrunched up his entire face, looking puzzled. "Why?"

"I didn't want it to affect work," Copter explained.

"Affect work..." Tee echoed back, the corners of his lips slowly curving upwards. "As in you not being able to work because P'Kim can't get his freaking hands off of you? Just like now?" 

Copter visibly flinched. Upon realizing that Kimmon had pretty much draped himself all over him, Copter blushed even harder and started to shove Kimmon away from him. Openly sulking, Kimmon backed off a little, but he kept holding onto Copter's hand, their fingers intertwined.

"You two are going to be super gross, huh?" Tee predicted.

"Well, we can't possibly beat you and P'Tae," Kimmon countered.

"I don't know about that. We haven't been caught making out in the storage room yet," Tee pointed out, deepening Copter's blush. "I'm pretty sure that's on a whole other level. Right, P'Tae?" 

With a broadening grin, Tae hung his arm around Tee's shoulder. "Yeah, we need to step up our game if we want to compete with them," he joined in.

After stealing another quick glimpse at Godt, Bas blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. 

"STOP!" 

At everyone's surprised looks, Bas cleared his throat, feeling rather sheepish. 

"Uhh...no one's allowed to make out at the shop. Or do any sort of gross PDA around here, okay?! Just keep it to yourselves! You should be mindful of the fact that I'm a lonely single and I really don't need you guys rubbing it into my face everyday," Bas continued to babble. "Especially you, P'Kim!" 

"Me?" Kimmon asked, appearing bewildered by the direct accusation. 

"Yeah, you," Bas confirmed. "Just because it's all out now doesn't mean you get to have bragging rights. You can't hog P'Copter all to yourself!"

"What?"

Ignoring Kimmon's subsequent attempts to protest, Bas ran over to them and linked arms with Copter, effectively tearing him away from Kimmon. 

"Right, P'Ter? Should we go upstairs and clean the tables now? Our break time's almost over," Bas said, giving a sweet smile to Copter.

"Um...yeah, sure," Copter agreed, looking quite baffled but also relieved by a chance to escape from the others. 

While dragging Copter off to the second floor, Bas peeked at Godt once more. A mix of confusion and amusement was painted across Godt's face, which he thought was a much better look on Godt than the barren one that he wore a minute ago.

Feeling strangely content, Bas playfully stuck out his tongue at Kimmon before disappearing with Copter altogether. 

***

Inhaling a deep breath, Kimmon gathered the courage to bring up the topic that he'd been trying to avoid all day. He knew that this was the best opportunity for them to discuss what had happened earlier today, given that they were now sitting in his car, finally left alone to themselves. 

He looked over at Copter, who remained eerily silent while mindlessly playing with the backpack on his lap. 

"Are you upset?" Kimmon asked. 

Confusion spread across his features, Copter switched his gaze to Kimmon. "No," he denied. "Why would I be upset?"

"I broke your one condition for coming back to the shop."

"Well, it was pretty stupid. And you didn't like it." 

"Even if I didn't like it, I accepted it. So I should have done my best to keep it," Kimmon said, his voice apologetic.

Copter reassured him with a small smile. "It's okay." 

Kimmon stopped briefly, feeling nervous about what he was about to ask next. "So...you're not going to quit, right?"

"I'm not going to quit."

"Thank god."

At Kimmon's exclamation of relief, Copter let out a chuckle, his expression softened. Smiling along with him, Kimmon carefully studied Copter's face, making sure that he wasn't misreading anything.

"You're really not upset?" Kimmon asked once again.

"No, I'm really not. I'm just embarrassed, I guess. I would have preferred telling them myself than...being caught like that," Copter mumbled while scratching the back of his head, his face turning a little scarlet. "And it's going to be pretty different now that they know."

"Nothing's going to change," Kimmon said, resisting an urge to pinch Copter's heated cheeks. "I mean, they might start teasing us more, but work won't be affected otherwise. And I promise to keep my hands off of you during work hours. Or, well, at least try to," he added in a playful tone.

Copter responded with another smile, but he subsequently dropped his gaze back to his lap. At the ensuing silence, Kimmon chewed on his lower lip, trying to figure out why Copter's mood still seemed to be slightly down. 

Kimmon gave his best guess. "You don't trust me?"

"What? No," Copter said. "It's just...P'Kim, I'm worried."

"Worried?" Kimmon prompted.

After heaving out a sigh, Copter met Kimmon's eyes. "People can be mean, especially when it comes to this," he hesitantly started out. "It hurts no matter how many times you experience it. And it's the worst when it involves something that really matters to you."

Unable to fully comprehend what Copter was attempting to get at, Kimmon just continued to hold Copter's gaze in silence. 

"I know how much the café means to you. How much the people there matter to you," Copter went on. "I don't want to mess any of that up." 

"Why would you think that?" Kimmon asked, still unsure about Copter's thoughts.

Copter darted his eyes away again, his fingers idly picking at a loose thread in the strap of his backpack. "A lot of customers weren't thrilled to hear about your rumored boyfriend. They may lash out if they find out that the rumor is true. In ways that could hurt you and the business." 

Upon hearing Copter's reluctant revelation, realization dawned on Kimmon at last. 

This was the real reason behind Copter's condition for returning back to Café Pit-a-Pat. 

Copter wanted to hide their relationship, not just from the Pit-a-Pat crew but from everyone else, because he was trying to protect Kimmon in his own way. But at what cost? How many times did he have to experience getting hurt by people who held on to such hateful views? How long had he stressed about this issue by himself? How much had he been afraid that his presence may harm Kimmon when it was actually the complete opposite? 

"You don't have to worry about that," Kimmon said, struggling to rein in his whirlwind of emotions. 

"But the café is your lifelong dream. You've always wanted to expand the business and open up stores all around the world," Copter noted. "I don't want to be the cause of ruining that in any way. I don't want you to get hurt." 

Feeling a heavy weight on his chest, Kimmon promptly reached over to raise Copter's face, redirecting Copter's uncertain eyes back to him. As their gazes locked, he gently caressed Copter's cheek with his thumb. 

"Copter, you're what matters the most to me," Kimmon whispered. "I've become a stronger person because you came into my life, and I'll continue to be strong, as long as you're with me. Always remember that, okay?"

A beautiful smile finally worked its way across Copter's lips. "Okay," he whispered back, grazing Kimmon's hand on his face with his own.

***


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"P', I don't know how you do it."

Upon hearing Kimmon's rather cryptic statement, Tae turned his head to where Kimmon was sitting beside him. A frown rapidly growing on his face, Kimmon just kept staring straight ahead of him instead of meeting Tae's confused eyes.

"Do what?" Tae asked as he picked up on Kimmon's noticeably bad mood.

"Stay calm," Kimmon replied, his tone grumpier. "While looking at that."

Still unsure of what Kimmon was trying to get at, Tae promptly followed Kimmon's sullen gaze. He couldn't help but let out a smile when his eyes settled on the sight in front of him. 

Seeming to have won another point in their water volleyball match against Godt and Bas, Tee and Copter were hugging each other, happily squealing and hopping around in excitement. In stark contrast, on the other side of the net, Bas was angrily giving Godt a piece of his mind, to which Godt just rolled his eyes and made Bas flare up even more. 

After checking that Bas wasn't going to start assaulting Godt, Tae glanced back at Kimmon. He remained perplexed, not really seeing anything over there that would cause them to lose their composure. Well, okay, maybe he was a little concerned that Bas and Godt's bickering might turn into a full blown fight, but he was pretty sure that wasn't what was on Kimmon's mind. Especially not when Kimmon had been pretty much shooting a death glare at where Tee and Copter were standing for the past several minutes. 

Realization finally hit him. 

"Are you jealous?!" Tae asked, unable to hide his incredulity. 

Looking quite exasperated, Kimmon motioned at the scene in front of them. "How are you not?!"

Raising his eyebrows in disbelief, Tae swiftly moved his eyes to Tee and Copter. With one arm wrapped around Copter, Tee was whispering something into Copter's ear, to which Copter giggled adorably in response. Tae returned his gaze to Kimmon, who appeared a lot sulkier than before.

_Seriously?!_

Feeling split between laughing out loud and smacking Kimmon for being ridiculous, Tae momentarily paused. "Oh come on, Kim, it's just those two," he ended up saying as calmly as he could. "They've always been like that."

"They don't have to be," Kimmon grumbled.

Tae bit back an amused grin. "Do you not trust them?" 

"Of course, I trust them," Kimmon said before drooping his shoulders in defeat. "It's just...I don't know. I can't stop myself from getting annoyed every time they're like that. Not just when it's Tee, but every time anyone gets too close to him." 

Tae eventually took pity on Kimmon, who looked more and more miserable with himself. "It's okay, Kim. I get jealous too," he admitted. "I'm just better at hiding it than you."

Kimmon perked up a little. "Yeah?" 

"Yeah," Tae confirmed with a reassuring smile. "Also, it's easier to put my jealousy aside when I see Tee looking so happy. Isn't it the same for you? The reason why you're grumbling to me instead of running over there and dragging Copter away?"

At Tae's words, Kimmon shifted his gaze back to Copter. His features immediately softened as he watched Copter enjoying his time with the others, the smile on his face eventually matching the bright one on Copter's.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kimmon whispered, his affectionate eyes still locked on Copter as if he were unable to look away. 

Strongly resisting an urge to taunt Kimmon for being so freaking sappy, Tae chuckled. "You know, it's a good look on you."

"What is?" Kimmon asked, slowly turning his head towards Tae.

"Being in love. I don't think I've ever seen you look so happy."

Kimmon let out an embarrassed laugh, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I am, P'Tae. Copter makes me so happy. And it's like...I just want to do everything that I can to make him feel the same way."

"So that's the real reason behind hosting another Pit-a-Pat workshop, huh?" Tae accused playfully.

"Well, it benefits everyone, right?" Kimmon countered. "I'm sure you appreciate the break from work."

Easily surrendering to that flawless comeback, Tae nodded. "I sure do." 

Although the café's hours of operation were pretty reasonable compared to other workplaces, it still proved to be difficult to take entire days off during the year, despite Kimmon having had encouraged everyone to do so as necessary. Therefore, when Kimmon had announced that he planned to continue hosting Pit-a-Pat workshops annually, it came as a pleasant surprise to all. Not only would they get to spend time together on a relaxing group trip, but, unlike last year, Kimmon was also closing the café for an additional three days and thereby giving everyone free vacation days.

Tae smiled as he thought about his itinerary over the next few days. Tomorrow morning, as soon as the workshop ended, he and Tee were going to head over to Singapore. It had been quite a while since they went on an international trip by themselves, and he planned to make the most out of the opportunity. 

"P'Tae, I don't think I can ever get to your level," Kimmon muttered under his breath, snapping Tae out of his reverie.

"What?" 

Without saying anything else, Kimmon suddenly bolted up from his beach chair and rushed over to the others, who were currently engaged in a fierce battle of splashing water at each other. Right now, it seemed that they were all ganging up on the youngest, with Copter tightly hugging Bas from behind and trapping him in place so that Tee and Godt could attack him nonstop. 

_Kimmon got jealous of that?!_

Beyond amused, Tae watched as Kimmon entered the fight, taking his place next to Copter after shoving everyone else away. Within seconds, the tides turned and Kimmon became the new target. Only Copter attempted to defend Kimmon by splattering water at Kimmon's attackers. 

When the others started to switch their attention to Copter, Kimmon quickly stood in front of Copter and protected him from everyone. Giggling, Copter held onto Kimmon as he continued to throw water at the others from behind Kimmon's back. Even though he was literally close to drowning from all the vicious attacks, Kimmon looked so ecstatic, likely because he finally managed to keep Copter close to him.

God, they were really getting super gross, in line with what Tee had predicted.

Unable to suppress his resulting grin, Tae stood up and promptly ran over to join forces with his boyfriend. 

*** 

Feeling extremely content, Kimmon maintained his gaze on Copter, who was busily munching on his third skewer of the day. On their way back from buying groceries at the market, they had stopped by the nearby food stalls on the street. According to Copter, they smelled way too good to just pass by, and Kimmon never let an opportunity to spoil Copter slip away. 

So there they were, walking side by side, each with a skewer in one hand and a bulky grocery bag in the other. The moment brought a sense of déjà vu to Kimmon as he happily recollected memories from last year's Pit-a-Pat workshop, when the two of them had visited the exact same market and food stands together. 

When Copter was almost done with his chicken skewer, Kimmon cleared his throat, trying to get Copter's attention. Still chewing, Copter shifted his head towards Kimmon. He looked like a baby chipmunk with his cheeks stuffed full, making Kimmon break out into a smile. 

"Remember the last time we were here?" Kimmon asked. "And you told me that I still had to work on a few things if I wanted to pass as a stellar boyfriend?"

After swallowing all the food in his mouth, Copter let out a light chuckle. "Yeah, I remember."

"I was wondering if that changed somewhat," Kimmon said while wearing a hopeful expression. "You know, whether I pass with flying colors now."

At the time, they had just agreed to their long-term arrangement of being fake lovers, and Kimmon hadn't made much of an effort to be a "stellar boyfriend". To his regret, he had actually done the complete opposite by forcing Copter to carry all the groceries and teasing him until he had sulked. 

Now that they were really dating, Kimmon was very determined to redeem himself and score high points. 

"I don't know...." Copter trailed off, rather intentionally.

Noticing that Copter was glancing at another food stand, Kimmon immediately took action. Before Copter could stop him, he bought an extra large spicy squid skewer and handed it over to Copter. 

Copter playfully narrowed his eyes at Kimmon. "Are you trying to bribe me, Khun Kimmon?" 

"Is it working?" Kimmon asked, not at all ashamed. 

"Not really," Copter said as he began to eat the squid. "You didn't give me what I actually wanted." 

"What?"

Kimmon chewed on his lower lip, wondering what he had missed. After some thinking, he attempted to grab the groceries out of Copter's other hand, but Copter rejected his offer.

"Nope, it's not that," Copter said. 

While Kimmon continued to ponder, Copter finished his food. Looking satisfied, Copter tossed the empty wooden stick in a trash bin before shooting an expectant look at Kimmon. Feeling lost, Kimmon gaped back in silence.

Copter tilted his head to the side. "You really don't know?" 

"Do you want a smoothie?" Kimmon guessed while pointing to the stand at the other side of the street. 

After shaking his head, Copter abruptly reached out to hold Kimmon's hand and weaved their fingers together. Caught off guard, Kimmon kept staring at him, feeling his heart skip a beat. A shy smile gracing his lips, Copter lifted their joined hands and gently swayed them back and forth. 

"This is what I want." 

With that sweet whisper, Copter began to lead them away from the food stalls and back to the condo, where the rest of the Pit-a-Pat crew were waiting. Kimmon's eyes trailed along Copter's face, taking in the faint blush coloring his pale skin, the precious dimples popping up on his cheeks, and his reddened lips that were slightly swollen from the spicy squid.

_So beautiful._

Unable to hold back, Kimmon swooped in and kissed Copter's right dimple. Copter stopped his steps, turning to face Kimmon with a surprised expression. 

"P'Kim," Copter started to say before Kimmon cut him off. 

"You totally brought that on yourself," Kimmon defended himself, trying to look as innocent as possible. 

Copter ended up laughing. "Okay, fine. You're right," he conceded. When Kimmon tried to lean in for another kiss, though, Copter quickly stepped back. "But not now."

"Not now?" Kimmon echoed.

"Everyone's waiting for us," Copter said. "We should hurry back."

"Then later?" Kimmon pressed. 

"Later," Copter agreed. "When we're alone." 

Not letting go of Kimmon's hand, Copter started walking forward again without another word. Kimmon easily gave in, matching Copter's quick steps one by one. He gave out a fond chuckle as he watched the blush deepening across Copter's features. 

***


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

With silent footsteps, Kimmon approached the bedroom ahead of him and pushed the door open. Upon seeing a messy heap of bundled blanket, a fond smile worked its way across his face and into his eyes. 

After stepping inside and sitting himself on the edge of the bed, Kimmon stared for a little while, feeling momentarily mesmerized by the precious sight in front of him. The bright morning sun trickled in through the windows, lazily spilling into the room and casting an illuminating glow on Copter's peacefully sleeping figure.

Copter was beautiful. _Really beautiful._

He wished that he could start his every morning like this, with Copter caught inside his gaze and framed in his heart.

Kimmon couldn't help but reach out, gently stroking his fingers across smooth skin and tousled hair. Seemingly undisturbed by Kimmon's light touches, Copter continued to remain in deep slumber, which elicited an affectionate chuckle from Kimmon. His resolve to wake Copter up completely disappeared. 

Just a few hours ago, Café Pit-a-Pat's second annual workshop had officially come to an end. Bas, Godt, Tae and Tee had left, each of them having their own plans of enjoying their remaining days of vacation. Meanwhile, Kimmon and Copter had stayed put at the beach condo, choosing to spend the rest of their time off together in the same place.

After sending the others off in the morning, Kimmon and Copter had decided to take a quick nap, attempting to catch up on sleep that was missed the previous night from hanging out with the Pit-a-Pat family. They had ultimately settled on getting up within an hour, given that they both didn't want to waste all their time today sleeping. 

An hour quickly turned into two hours, though, and was on the verge of becoming three because as he was watching Copter now, Kimmon felt tempted to change his mind yet again. Although Copter had already slept way past their agreed upon time, he still didn't have the heart to awaken him, especially not when he looked so delicately at peace. 

Somewhat fortunately, before Kimmon could fully reconsider, Copter began to stir awake on his own. Kimmon's smile widened when Copter's eyes fluttered open all the way to meet his. 

"Good morning," Kimmon greeted him. 

Copter smiled back, revealing his signature dimples. "Morning," he mumbled faintly, his eyes still half-lidded with sleep. 

"Ready to get up?"

"Mm-hmm."

Contrary to his murmured assent, though, Copter didn't appear at all ready to wake up anytime soon. While rubbing his drooping eyes, he barely managed to sit himself upright. With a soft chuckle, Kimmon reached out to thread his fingers through Copter's tangled locks.

"I made you breakfast," Kimmon said. 

"Really?"

Kimmon laughed, noticing how Copter seemed a little more awake at the mention of food. "Yeah, it's one of your favorites. Strawberry pancakes." 

"Yeah?" Copter's drowsy expression turned playful. "Are they edible?"

Kimmon feigned an offended look. It didn't last for long, though, once Copter started to giggle. 

"They'll be the best you've ever had," Kimmon eventually guaranteed, smiling along. 

"That confident, huh?" 

Copter giggled again before releasing a long-lasting yawn. Leaning towards suggesting another nap session, Kimmon lowered his fingers to Copter's cheek, tenderly caressing it with his thumb. His heart melted when Copter closed his eyes and nuzzled into his hand lovingly, acting like a kitten purring for more attention. 

"Do you want to sleep some more?"

"No." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yep."

Kimmon gave out an amused smile, totally unconvinced by Copter's halfhearted answers. It seemed as though Copter could and would fall asleep any second now, using Kimmon's hand as his new pillow. Not that Kimmon would mind if he did, but a sleepy Copter was just way too adorable for him to leave alone. 

Unable to stop himself, Kimmon extended his other hand to cup Copter's warm cheeks in his palms. When Copter's eyes quivered open in confusion, he began to pepper Copter's face with countless kisses, making Copter let out another string of giggles. 

Copter frantically gripped Kimmon's shoulders, trying to avoid his relentless attacks but failing. "What are you doing?!" he squeaked out in between his laughter. 

"Helping you wake up," Kimmon replied as he continued to kiss him all over. 

"Really now," Copter said, still laughing. 

After pecking at Copter's mouth several times, Kimmon put on an innocent expression. "Is it working?"

"Not sure. Maybe you should try harder," Copter suggested, holding Kimmon's gaze with a knowing smile.

"Gladly."

Immediately, Kimmon surged forward and knocked him down onto the bed. Caging a giggling Copter beneath him, he dipped down to capture those full lips, parting them for a deeper kiss. Everything was right in the world when Copter readily kissed him back, arms wrapping around his neck.

"Awake now?" Kimmon asked, pulling away just barely. 

He grinned upon spotting the twinkle in Copter's dark mocha eyes, now brimming alive with energy. 

"I think so," Copter confirmed. 

Having succeeded in his mission, Kimmon started to move backwards, intending to get up again. Yet, he didn't get very far. Copter firmly kept his arms looped around Kimmon, effectively preventing him from leaving. When Kimmon shot him a puzzled look, Copter hooked his legs around Kimmon's waist and yanked him down until their bodies were pressed flush against each other.

Their gazes locked, unspoken words passing between them.

Kimmon stilled, feeling desire rapidly pooling inside of him. He was trapped in place, but he didn't want to escape. Especially not when his paradise was right in front of his eyes, right there for him to savor just for himself. 

"Don't tempt me," Kimmon whispered, meant to be a warning of some sort. 

"Who told you to resist?"

A startled chuckle left Kimmon's mouth at Copter's bold comeback, accompanied by his sulky pout. It felt like a surprise attack, one that Kimmon wasn't prepared for but would happily surrender to. 

Seriously, who was he to even think about resisting?! 

With nothing holding him back, Kimmon dove in at once, initiating a further round of much more heated kisses. Copter welcomed him, his arms bringing them closer together. 

Their mouths melded, Kimmon eagerly roamed his hands all over the now familiar contours of Copter's body, working to undress him. As always, he marveled at the tantalizing feel of Copter's soft skin beneath his fingertips. This time around, though, there was one additional thing to marvel about. 

The corners of Kimmon's lips curved up while his eyes greedily drank in the breathtaking view below him. With the sunlight scattering into the room, he could better make out the hint of pink flush that was slowly spreading all across Copter's pale white skin. 

He was truly a masterpiece, the most stunning palette of colors that he'd ever seen. 

"P'Kim?" Copter called, tugging at Kimmon's shirt. He frowned when Kimmon wasn't responding, not doing anything other than staring down at him. 

"Give me a second," Kimmon said, his gaze exploring with purpose. "Or more." 

When Copter realized what Kimmon was doing, he let out an embarrassed groan. 

"P'Kim!"

"What? I'm just appreciating what's mine."

Copter tried to hide his reddening face into the pillow. "Stop it." 

"Isn't it a little too late to feel shy?" Kimmon teased. 

Tossing him a flustered glare, Copter grabbed Kimmon's face and dragged it down to crash their lips together again. Kimmon willingly gave in, smiling against Copter's mouth before drowning entirely in the sweet taste. 

It didn't take long before all of their clothes were removed and carelessly strewn on the floor. Relishing the perfect feeling of skin on skin, Kimmon ventured onward. After dropping wet kisses to the underside of Copter's jaw, he moved his head down, trailing his mouth across each and every inch of Copter's body. 

"P'Kim," Copter whimpered when Kimmon paid extra attention to the round sensitive nubs on his chest. 

Kimmon bit a little harder in response, quickly followed by soothing swirls of tongue. He reached out to play with his other nipple, rubbing his fingers against the swollen tip, before alternating his hand and mouth. Copter writhed in pleasure beneath him, his thighs restlessly sliding against Kimmon's sides. 

"Patience," Kimmon murmured with a chuckle, backing away when Copter attempted to grind his hip up towards him. 

At Copter's frustrated grunt, Kimmon consoled him with another series of lingering kisses. 

Although Kimmon usually loved to indulge Copter with whatever he wanted, this was one of his few exceptions. He just couldn't give up dragging out the foreplay for as long as possible, it being his favorite part of the process. If granted permission, he could probably spend forever worshiping every nook and crevice of Copter's body, just like he deserved.

"P'Kim," Copter whined again, clearly unsated. 

Kimmon finally proceeded along, not wanting to make his boyfriend too grumpy.

A sharp gasp escaped Copter's mouth as soon as Kimmon started to lick along his cock. Encouraged by Copter's ceaseless cries, he squeezed the base while opening his mouth wider, lightly sucking his way up and down, tormentingly slow. His pace remained the same even with Copter's raspy pleas and desperate hands fisting at Kimmon's hair. 

Really, as mentioned, he could spend a very long time doing this and would gladly do so if given the chance. 

Switching between gentle grazes of teeth and long leisurely licks, Kimmon moved his mouth back to the tip. Copter was already so wet. His tongue lapping over the moisture collected at his slit, Kimmon slid his hands inward and gripped the globes of Copter's ass, idly molding the sensitive flesh there. His deft fingers soon crawled towards the hole in between and ghosted over it repeatedly. 

Eventually, Copter's patience snapped. 

Releasing a deep groan, Copter yanked Kimmon's face back towards his, aggressively nipping at Kimmon's bottom lip. Kimmon kissed back with equal fervor, allowing Copter to taste himself off of his tongue.

Copter seemed to be extra impatient today, but Kimmon didn't mind at all. He welcomed it, actually, especially since he was now more than ready to cater to all his needs. 

Grabbing the bottle of lube on the bedside table, he poured as much as he could onto his hands and slicked his fingers, warming the sticky liquid up. Copter silently watched his every move, his pupils blown. He spread his thighs wider when, at last, Kimmon circled his lubed fingers against his entrance and pushed one in.

It was always so tight at first. 

Feeling the heat clenching around his finger, Kimmon rubbed Copter's knee soothingly before slowly pulling it out and pushing it back in, working his way inside.

"More," Copter demanded.

Chuckling, Kimmon obliged. He inserted another finger and then one more, thrusting them in a scissoring motion to stretch him open. Once he could move his fingers around with ease, Kimmon delved deeper, searching for the bundle of nerves within him. A moment later, Copter gave out a ragged cry, his hips rolling forward.

"Now," Copter whispered while grinding himself back onto Kimmon's fingers. 

"Hmm?" Feeling a mischievous smile tugging at his lips, Kimmon pretended not to understand. "What do you want?" he asked, deliberately brushing his fingertips against Copter's sweet spot, sinfully hot to the touch. 

Jolting in response, Copter reached down to palm Kimmon's cock. "I want you," he begged, his voice breathy. "Now. Please."

It always lit him on fire every time he saw Copter needing him like this. 

"Of course," Kimmon said, gently pulling Copter's hand away and bringing it to his mouth, showering it with kisses. "I got you, baby. I got you." 

Having reached his own limits, Kimmon blindly grasped for the lube again, coating himself with a generous amount before giving Copter what he wanted. _What they both wanted._

Copter hitched a shaky breath when Kimmon slowly sunk in all the way. It took a minute or so for them to adjust to each other until Copter's hip jerked up a little, trying to work Kimmon in deeper. 

That was his cue. 

After drawing out a little, Kimmon arched right back into him. Catching Copter's soft keening noises with his mouth, he began to ram into him steadily, finding the same place that his fingers did in a few seconds. Copter threw his head back in satisfaction while meeting Kimmon's thrusts at a constant rhythm. 

"P', I'm..." Copter trailed off, seeming to forget how to string words together. "I want to...I'm going to..."

Kimmon made sense of Copter's unfinished sentence, sensing that Copter was close by the way he was tightening around his cock. "Yeah, come for me," he cooed, knowing that he wasn't going to last much longer as well. "Let it all out." 

After pushing Copter's knees towards his chest for a new angle, Kimmon hammered inside, faster and harder, making Copter cry out variations of his name. He took Copter's hardened cock in his hand, firmly pumping it in his fist, until Copter came apart with a strangled moan. 

Smearing the come in his hand all around Copter's heated skin, Kimmon continued to thrust through his high, helping Copter ride out his orgasm. Not long after, he finally tumbled over the edge and emptied inside. 

They stayed like that for several minutes, with Kimmon still inside Copter, lazily rocking into him. Kimmon kissed the quiet whimpers out of Copter's mouth, smoothing his palms down his shuddering body, before carefully pulling out. 

Feeling rather spent out, Kimmon laid down next to Copter, gathering him preciously in his arms. The soft sounds of their breathing filled the subsequent silence. 

"Should we take another nap?" Kimmon ended up proposing once he felt the last of Copter's trembles die down.

"Mm-hmm," Copter easily agreed, his head resting on Kimmon's chest. "And then pancakes," he added. "Your strawberry pancakes."

Kimmon let out a chuckle. "Yup. I'll make you a fresh batch."

He shifted his position to let Copter snuggle into him more comfortably. With a content sigh, Copter instantly nestled his face into the side of Kimmon's neck before mumbling something inaudible. 

"What?" Kimmon asked, not fully catching Copter's words. 

"I love you."

Upon hearing Copter's soft-spoken confession, Kimmon felt his heart swooning with overwhelming happiness. It vowed to belong to Copter for an eternity once again, as if Kimmon hadn't already committed his everything to Copter a long while ago. 

"I love you too. So very much."

Cradling Copter closer, Kimmon gently kissed his temple before closing his eyes. 

***


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Nervously fidgeting, Copter darted his eyes across the table before shifting them back to the person beside him.

"P'Kim, it's okay," Copter whispered, an uncomfortable smile spreading over his face.

Again, Copter tried to hint at Kimmon to read the awkward atmosphere openly surrounding them. Just like before, though, Kimmon didn't seem to be getting his message at all.

"But you're not eating," Kimmon pointed out, frowning. He continued to pick out the meat from the crab legs piled on his plate. "Ooh, this is a big piece," he said while bringing it to Copter's mouth, trying to feed him yet again.

_Oh god, please stop..._

It wasn't that Copter didn't appreciate Kimmon's sweet actions. He really did, and he would have been much more appreciative under any other circumstance. But did Kimmon have to insist on feeding him right fucking now?!

Copter took a quick glimpse at the other people sitting around their table. Mai was shooting across an amused look, while Parn and Tao appeared frozen, their expressions completely wrought with appalled shock.

Yeah, this definitely was not how he wanted his first dinner with Kimmon's family to play out.

Feeling beads of sweat dripping down the back of his neck, Copter gently pushed Kimmon's hand away from him. He forced out another small smile.

"I can eat it myself," Copter said once more, a hint of desperation evident in his whisper.

"Okay, okay," Kimmon seemed to concede, but he stubbornly put the crab meat back in front of Copter's mouth. "But eat this first."

Wishing to end the situation as soon as possible, Copter reluctantly parted his lips and accepted it. Kimmon beamed, apparently unaware of the aghast reactions that he was causing around him.

"Stop being so gross, Kimmon," Mai finally said, attempting to rescue Copter from further embarrassment.

Kimmon threw her a half-confused, half-offended glare. "What?"

"Leave him be," Parn said, a slight smile now gracing her lips. "These look fresh," she commented as she pushed a plate of grilled shelled prawns towards Kimmon.

"Oh yeah, they do," Kimmon agreed while taking some of the prawns.

Immediately, Kimmon began to peel them, obviously with the intention of giving them all to Copter. Releasing a stiff chuckle, Copter frantically made grabs at the remaining prawns.

"I can peel them," Copter mumbled, hoping that Kimmon would catch the implicit ' _PLEASE STOP'_ that he hid in his words.

Unfortunately for him, Kimmon didn't. "Of course you can," he said, his tone adoring. Kimmon swatted Copter's hands away and placed the prawns that he unshelled on Copter's plate. "But eat these first."

Copter inwardly groaned. Not having the audacity to face the others anymore, he kept his gaze fixed on his plate, which was filling up very rapidly all thanks to Kimmon.

Still smiling, Parn switched her attention to Mai and Tao. "So are all the wedding preparations done?"

"Well, I would hope so," Mai said with a nod. "Especially if we're still planning to get married next week."

"Even if we're not done with the preparations, we're getting married next week," Tao confirmed.

"Is that right?" Mai asked while playfully tilting her head to the side. "You just can't wait to be my husband, huh?"

"Yeah, I can't," Tao responded, his voice soft. "I've waited long enough."

Appearing not to have expected such a sweet comeback from Tao, Mai stilled. A blush visibly worked its way across her cheeks, which proved to be a rare sight to witness given her usually bold personality. With an affectionate smile, Tao reached out to cover the back of Mai's hand with his palm.

As he watched their loving interaction, Copter felt his heart warming. That is, he did until Kimmon abruptly broke in and ruined the entire moment.

"Okay, now who's being gross?!" Kimmon grumbled, shaking his head in mock disgust.

Looking unimpressed, Parn raised her eyebrows. "It's okay, Kimmon. No one here beats you."

"Yeah, you're tonight's champion for that," Mai chimed in, not one to miss a chance at ganging up on Kimmon. "Just so you know, we all like prawns too."

Mai was clearly referring to how Kimmon had been peeling all the prawns and putting each and every one of them on Copter's plate, not at all leaving any for the others.

"Then put in another order," Kimmon grumpily said, totally unfazed.

"P'Kim," Copter intervened, his voice barely audible.

Copter really needed Kimmon to stop hogging all the food for his sake, especially when he didn't have much of an appetite at the moment. He had come to this dinner with the hopes of making a better impression on Kimmon's family, certainly not to stuff himself with food.

Kimmon swiftly turned his head towards Copter, his expression softening in an instant. "Hmm? What do you need?"

Upon meeting Kimmon's attentive gaze, Copter momentarily faltered. His initial resolve to slap some sense into Kimmon weakened.

"Thank you, P'Kim," Copter eventually said before moving some of the prawns onto Kimmon's plate. "These are really good. You should have some too."

Copter ended up chuckling when he saw Kimmon's face light up more, his twinkling eyes not leaving Copter even for a second.

"Excuse me!" Mai loudly yelled out to a nearby waiter, cutting through Kimmon and Copter's moment and making them both jump. "Can we get another order of grilled prawns?"

Parn wordlessly shook her head, appearing entertained and exasperated at the same time.

***

"Copter, I want to apologize for the last time we met."

Copter jerked his head towards Parn, her sudden apology having caught him by surprise.

The two of them were currently standing in front of the restaurant, waiting for Tao and Kimmon to drive their cars over to pick them up. Mai had just excused herself to go to the restroom, abandoning Parn and Copter to themselves.

Feeling more and more uneasy about the tense silence that settled upon them, Copter had been wondering how to break the quiet when Parn beat him to it.

"Oh! No, please don't!" Copter exclaimed, wildly waving his hands in panic. "I should be the one apologizing..."

"For the fake boyfriend thing?" Parn finished for him, her brows gathered together in a scolding frown. "That was quite a stunt that you two pulled."

_Now would be a great time to melt into a puddle._

Dropping his troubled gaze down to his feet, Copter clamped his mouth shut, feeling terrible about all his past lies to her. His eyes shot back to Parn, though, at her next words.

"But, looking at the result, I'm glad that it happened."

Startled, Copter blinked at her in silence. Parn just gave him a reassuring smile, her gaze brimming with gratitude.

"I've never seen Kimmon smile and laugh like that before. I can tell that he's very happy with you and that he loves you very much. That's more than enough for me."

Parn paused for a brief second, her serious eyes locking onto Copter's wavering ones.

"Copter, do you love Kimmon?"

It was a question that had come up in their first encounter. At the time, Copter had so much difficulty answering it, having felt guiltily unsure about how to provide the perfect dishonest response as Kimmon's fake boyfriend.

Now, rather ironically, he still faced the same problem. This time around, though, Copter yearned to pour out his truth, but struggled with trying to best express all the overflowing emotions that he felt towards Kimmon.

"I do. I really love him," Copter eventually confessed, his voice shaking a little. "And...I just wish that for as long as he's with me and for much longer, P'Kim will be happy."

"I wish the same for you," Parn returned, sincerity marked on her softened features. "You know, there's so much that we need to learn about each other going forward. But, for today, I want you to know just one thing about me."

Copter quickly nodded. He stared back at her in anticipation, determined to forever remember whatever Parn was about to share with him.

"Consider me your grandma from now on."

The unexpected words that left her mouth punched him hard, rendering him speechless for a lasting while.

_Grandma?_

Widening her smile, Parn subsequently reached out towards Copter, who still couldn't recover from her sweet declaration. She carefully held Copter's hands in her own before catching Copter's gaze.

"So no need to feel nervous or uncomfortable the next time we meet, okay? And, that next time, we're doing a one-on-one date. Just you and me. Because if Kimmon tags along, he's just going to have you to himself again, and it's hard to compete against him," Parn said with a chuckle.

Copter stayed silent, unable to smile along. A huge lump had started to form in his throat, threatening to choke up any words that he could come up with.

He had never gotten the chance to know his real grandparents, other than having heard stories relayed by his father. The fact that Parn was proposing to take on that precious role in his life, to essentially become a part of his family, was too overwhelming for him.

"Come here, dear," Parn murmured upon noticing that Copter was close to tears. She pulled him closer and captured him in a hug. "It's okay."

Tightening her arms around Copter, Pat proceeded to pat his trembling back. Copter bit his lips, trying to hold himself together, even though he could feel his walls tumbling down at the warmth encircling him.

"Don't cry," Parn continued to say. "Kimmon won't let me hear the end of it if he finds out, and he's really annoying when he sulks," she added, her tone lighthearted.

At that, Copter couldn't help but laugh, although his eyes kept getting wetter. Parn laughed with him, her gentle hands now rubbing comforting circles on his back.

***

Enjoying the calm quiet surrounding them, Kimmon and Copter slowly strolled down the well-trodden path ahead, their fingers perfectly intertwined.

They were taking a walk at a park near Copter's apartment, mostly due to Kimmon's insistence that he didn't want to part with Copter so soon. Even though they had spent most of the day together, Copter went along with Kimmon's wishes, honestly because he felt the same way.

"P'Kim."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

His eyes bright as they latched onto Copter's, Kimmon squeezed Copter's hand. "You can ask me anything."

After letting out a fond chuckle, Copter asked the question that he had wondered about for the longest time. "Why did you fall in love with me?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean....I'm so far off from your ideal type," Copter provided further.

Kimmon crumpled up his face, looking beyond confused. "What's my ideal type?"

Copter shot him a disbelieving look. "You don't remember? You told me before that you like people who aren't cute. That you like tall and charismatic people. According to Bas, the sexy model type."

"Oh," Kimmon said, realization dawning on him. "Umm...I was lying."

"What?"

"That was when I was still in denial about my feelings for you," Kimmon explained, sounding sheepish about his past behavior. "I didn't want you to catch on to anything at the time, so I just blurted out random things."

Copter pouted. "So I got disappointed over nothing."

"You were disappointed?" Kimmon asked back, appearing surprised and amused by Copter's revelation.

"Well yeah. I thought I didn't stand a chance," Copter admitted, feeling slightly flustered.

"You're everything that I want," Kimmon softly cooed, pulling Copter towards him for a chaste kiss. "And who said that you're not charismatic and sexy?!"

Copter perked up, feeling a little boost in his confidence. "Yeah?"

Kimmon furrowed his brows, suddenly looking a bit pensive. "Okay, maybe tall is a bit of a stretch..."

At Kimmon's playful teasing, Copter punished him with a light smack.

Kimmon laughed before countering back. "Hey, at least I didn't reject you outright! Remember? You told me that I wasn't your type."

It was Copter's turn to wear a perplexed expression. "What? When?"

"When we got waffles at Godt's stand! You told me that I wasn't your type so that I shouldn't worry, whatever the heck that was supposed to mean."

The memory that Kimmon was talking about struck Copter right then, making him giggle.

"You remember that?"

"Of course I do! I was so upset when you told me that!" Kimmon yelped, now sulking outright. 

"Well, that was when I didn't know," Copter said in the midst of his giggles, attempting to soothe Kimmon.

"Didn't know what?" Kimmon prompted.

Copter stopped his steps and turned to face Kimmon, who instantly followed suit and was staring at him expectantly. Shortening the distance between them, Copter put his arms around Kimmon.

"I didn't know that you were everything that I needed," Copter murmured, lifting his head to gaze into Kimmon's eyes. "Everything that I want."

Glowing with happiness and satisfaction, Kimmon leaned in and awarded him with more kisses that made Copter breathless.

_Thank you for loving me and for giving me another family_ , Copter ended up keeping inside. He didn't want to break down into tears and worry Kimmon in any way, which would inevitably happen if he thought about it again.

Quite frankly, all of his days with Kimmon still felt daunting to him, increasingly so. Even though he promised Kimmon that he wouldn't fret about it, Copter couldn't stop himself from feeling utterly terrified about the possibility of losing everything again. He was certain that he wouldn't be able to survive if that happened.

Once more, Copter wished that his newfound paradise would last a little longer, even though he knew that he didn't deserve any of it.

***


	8. Chapter 8

** Chapter 8 **

Kimmon wet his lips, trying to stay as calm as possible as he waited for the employee to return back with his order.

It was, admittedly, kind of stupid. Really, he didn't even know why he was feeling so freaking nervous right now. Yet, foolish or not, every time he thought about the idea, his heart kept jumping up into his throat and choking him with a swarming mix of emotions.

By this point, he just wanted to get it all over with, even though he wasn't sure if he would actually be ready.

Just when the wait became almost too unbearable, the employee finally came back to the counter. She was holding a dark velvet box in her hand, the sight of which ramped up Kimmon's jittery nerves even more. Seeming to have spotted his anxiety, the employee showed him a friendly smile before handing the box over to him.

After heaving in a deep breath, Kimmon carefully opened the box.

The rings shone brightly under the ambient lights in the shop, the round diamonds glittering elegantly around the white gold. Kimmon lightly brushed a thumb over their polished surfaces, admiring the feel of the fine texture against his fingertip.

He knew that it wasn't the most subtle design, but, the moment he first came across it, Kimmon couldn't help but picture how beautiful the ring would look on Copter's finger.

"Your boyfriend will love it," the employee reassured him, her gaze kind with understanding.

Kimmon released a weak chuckle before turning his attention back to the box. "I hope so," he murmured quietly.

As he continued to stare at the rings, Kimmon felt himself being swept away to a rapid sequence of wishful images.

He imagined Copter widening his eyes in shock as soon as he knelt down on one knee, presenting the opened box towards him with trembling hands and a lurching heart.

He imagined Copter laughing and nodding at the same time after he popped the question, his smile ever growing while he let Kimmon gently slide the ring onto his finger.

He imagined Copter matching his footsteps as they walked down the aisle together with their fingers interlocked, surrounded by a cheering crowd of their families and friends.

He imagined Copter facing him on the altar as they exchanged sweet vows and paired rings, both of them feeling more than ready to finally tie the knot.

He imagined Copter silently gazing back at him, his face alight with love and joy, before Kimmon leaned in to kiss him and sealed their union once and for all.

_It was all so perfect._

"I really hope so," Kimmon repeated once more, his voice soft.

***

"Cheers to our groom!"

A boisterous clash of glasses was instantly followed by everyone in the group downing their drinks in one go.

Feeling refreshed by the cold beer, Kimmon let out a content sigh.

The more he thought about it, the more he gained confidence in his decision to join his brother's pre-wedding party instead of Mai's. In contrast to Tao's preference for a chill and relaxed setting with his close friends and family, Mai and her circle had opted for wild and extravagant.

Kimmon shuddered when he remembered Mai strongly suggesting that they spend a night at a luxurious strip club for her get-together. The second he had heard that idea, he had chosen to stick with his brother and stopped Mai from trying to get Copter to come to hers. Even Copter's curious puppy eyes hadn't worked on Kimmon that time, his glaring weakness for his boyfriend not enough to overcome his concerns.

Yeah, there was no way he'd let a bunch of promiscuous strippers give Copter seductive lap dances. _No fucking way._

One of Tao's friends, Jimmy, brought up a topic for conversation and ripped Kimmon away from his wandering thoughts.

"Tao, you should have just enjoyed the single life for so much longer," Jimmy said, his tone half-joking and half-reprimanding. "Now you'll be losing all your freedom."

Kimmon frowned. "Why would you be losing your freedom?"

"Because you end up losing time for yourself," Jimmy explained with feigned grief. "As well as all your bank accounts."

Jimmy's answer caused a mix of hearty reactions in the group, ranging from amused laughter to exasperated headshaking.

Kimmon remained silent, his confused frown deepening. Honestly, he couldn't relate at all. He would be more than willing to share everything that he had with Copter, considering it definitely a win if he were able to make Copter happier in any way.

"Stop exaggerating," Jay, one of Kimmon's cousins, spoke for the group.

"Come on," Jimmy said. "You married folks have to admit that there's some truth to what I'm saying."

Another cousin, Bank, chimed in. "Well, yeah, there might be some struggles and fights down the road. But, as long as you put in the effort and make sure to communicate with love and respect, it should all work out in the end."

"Yeah, it'll be great," Jay agreed.

Kimmon couldn't resist giving his own beliefs on the issue. "Right? You're spending your life with the person that you love. How can that not be great?"

"Hold up," Bank abruptly cut in, raising his eyebrows. "Just to be clear, Tao's the one getting married, right? Not Kimmon?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Tao's the one taking the plunge next weekend," Jay confirmed.

The weird look that Bank was shooting at Kimmon intensified. "Then why the fuck is Kimmon acting like he's the groom?!"

"I'm just curious," Kimmon mumbled in his defense.

"He's been moping around a lot lately," Tao revealed, giving out a suspecting smile. "And he keeps telling me how freaking envious he is of me getting married."

"Don't tell me that we need to start saving up for another wedding soon," Jimmy groaned playfully. When Kimmon didn't deny anything, though, Jimmy dropped his jaw. "Shit, really?!"

"I just can't stop thinking about it," Kimmon admitted a little hesitantly, when he sensed all their disbelieving gazes on him. "And I feel like I'm wasting my time when I know that I want to spend it all with him."

"Man, you're such a goner," Jimmy concluded at last, appearing entertained and shocked at the same time.

A knowing grin overtaking his face, Bank bumped Kimmon's shoulder. "That sure, huh?"

Feeling shy, Kimmon scratched the back of his head, but he ended up smiling along.

"I haven't been so sure of anything else in my life."

***

The scorching heat of the day had eased off to a comforting warmth now, with fresh breezes passing through every once in a while. Appreciating the outside air, Kimmon stood in front of the building, taking a moment to cool himself down before calling a taxi. He wasn't anywhere near drunk, but he did get just enough of a buzz to feel a bit flushed.

Kimmon shifted his gaze up to the bleak night sky and felt disappointed to see that it was empty of stars. From their earlier trip to the beach, he had gotten the chance to learn that Copter really enjoyed star gazing. He smiled as he recalled how Copter's big innocent eyes had twinkled so very brightly, so much more than all the stars in the sky that he had kept marveling about.

With that fond memory, his thoughts easily drifted to Copter and to how he missed him. His longing for him continued to gnaw at his heart, more and more, until he couldn't take it anymore.

Rather impatiently, Kimmon fished out his phone from his bag and dialed a number.

"Hello P'Kim."

As always, Copter's sweet gentle voice lifted his spirits at once.

"Hey," Kimmon cheerfully returned, unable to contain his delight.

"Are you still at P'Tao's party?"

"No, I'm going home now."

"Already?"

"I'm too old to pull all-nighters now."

Kimmon savored the sound of Copter's adorable giggles that followed. "Are you back at your place?" he asked after laughing along with him.

"Yep."

"How was dinner? Is Neng doing okay?"

While Kimmon attended Tao's event, Copter arranged to grab dinner with Neng, who had come by the area to take a few campus tours. Copter had glowed with obvious happiness when mentioning his plans for the evening, just like he always did whenever he talked about his siblings.

"Yeah, he's okay," Copter said. "He did seem a little stressed about his exams. I think he really wants to get admitted to a university here."

"Because he wants to live closer to you?"

"He denies ever saying that."

Kimmon chuckled at the pout in Copter's voice. "Well, it'd be great if he does well on his exams, but he shouldn't let the stress get to him."

"Yeah, that's what I told him too," Copter concurred. "He should be okay, but I'm going to keep checking in with him. Let him know that I'm always there to help him with anything."

"Such a supportive big brother," Kimmon said, smiling when Copter sounded quite embarrassed but pleased by his praise.

Gazing up at the night sky once again, Kimmon paused for a little while before confessing the three words that he had been meaning to say.

"I miss you."

Copter gave out another giggle in response. "We see each other all the time," he reminded him.

"So what?" Kimmon shot back, trying to sound extra sulky. "You don't miss me?"

"I miss you too," Copter softly murmured.

Feeling his heart skipping a beat, Kimmon perked up right away. "Really? Should I come over to see you?"

"Now?" Copter asked, a mix of shock and disbelief apparent in his voice.

"Yeah. Why not?"

Copter just laughed again. "It's getting late, P'Kim," he thoughtfully declined. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

His reply made Kimmon sulk for real. "So you actually don't miss me," he grumbled.

"No, I do!" Copter insisted, his voice laden with sincerity. "But I want you to get a good night's sleep. You haven't been resting that well lately. We'll see each other in the morning, okay?"

Kimmon surrendered, his mood immediately improving at the fact that Copter was worrying about him. "Okay."

"I'll be up for a while, so text me when you're back at your place," Copter said. "I want to know that you got home safely."

"I will," Kimmon promised, now grinning like the complete lovesick idiot that he was. "You know, if we were living together, you'd get to see with your own eyes that I got home safely."

"Yeah?"

"Just saying, you know. It might be nice. You'd get free hugs from me too," Kimmon hinted, intentionally drawing out all his words.

"Huh. That does sound nice. I like hugs," Copter said, playing along. "What about kisses? Do I get those for free too?"

"Absolutely," Kimmon quickly offered. "Anytime, every time, all the time."

At that, they wound up laughing together before finishing their conversation with a few more minutes of playful banter.

As he put his phone back into his bag, Kimmon caught sight of the small box that he had also kept inside there. The sequence of images that had hit him earlier today flashed before his eyes once more, making his nerves tingle again with anxious excitement.

He couldn't wait to bring all those beautiful hopes and dreams to life.

***


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Copter?"

It had just been another day at the café, although a little more hectic than usual due to Kimmon's temporary vacancy. Given that Kimmon had to step out for a few hours to take care of other business matters, Copter and Bas had been particularly busy that afternoon, both of them scrambling around to serve the incoming customers.

That was why Copter hadn't taken notice of exactly who had been coming into the shop. He regretted not having paid any attention, though, as soon as he saw the person who had called his name just now.

"It really is you."

Copter froze while he stared at the grinning man sitting in front of his eyes. His insides twisted painfully, more and more with a pounding fear as realization sunk in all the way.

It was someone who he never wished to meet ever again during his lifetime.

_Rich._

The woman, who was accompanying Rich at their table, glanced at Copter. "Babe, you know him?" she asked after returning her curious gaze to Rich.

"Yeah, from high school," Rich readily answered, his smile now turning into more of a smirk. "We were very close."

_Close?!_

Copter would have given back an angry laugh in response if he wasn't so fucking shocked by the sudden reunion.

Bits and pieces of his memories from high school began to invade his mind, despite his frantic struggles to keep them out. They all zeroed in on a younger version of Rich, the leader of all those bullies who were responsible for making his life a living hell.

_Rich. Why the fuck did he have to come here of all places?!_

"It's great seeing you again, Copter," Rich continued to say, his face glowing with malice. "I would have come by earlier if I knew you were working here."

Shoving down the curses that he wanted to hurl at him, Copter decided to ignore him. He didn't want to cause any ugly commotions, especially not here at the café in front of his beloved Pit-a-Pat family.

"May I take your orders?" Copter asked in as polite a tone as he could assemble, wanting to end their meaningless conversation.

Rich sneered, looking amused by Copter's attempt to switch topics. "You haven't changed at all," he noted. "Just the same as before."

Copter refused to play along. "I can come back in a few minutes if you need time to look through the menu," he said, making a move to leave their table.

Unfortunately for him, Rich didn't seem to have any intention of letting him go that easily. "Why don't you make some recommendations for us?" he requested.

Biting his lower lip, Copter stubbornly fixed his gaze on the menu. "Our pumpkin spice latte is our signature drink of the season. It's an all-time favorite of our customers," he went through the motions, his voice flat. "We also have a dessert menu if you're looking for something to eat." 

"Then we'll have two of your signature drinks," Rich ordered without much thinking. "As well as your most expensive dessert."

"Okay, we'll get those to you shortly," Copter said, quickly jotting down the orders onto the notepad that he was holding.

More than ready to take off, Copter whipped around and walked away. Sensing Rich's piercing gaze on his retreating back, he attempted to prevent his steps from quickening.

Yet, Copter knew that he wouldn't be able to maintain a cool front for much longer. His heart kept hammering violently inside his chest, making his breathing become more and more shallow. 

He really needed to get to a place where he could be alone.

"Here's Table 18's order," Copter croaked out as soon as he reached the counter, where Tae and Tee were processing all the drink orders. Upon seeing Bas standing there as well, he managed a small apologetic smile. "Bas, would you mind covering for me just for a little bit? I need to take a quick bathroom break."

"Of course, take your time," Bas said, smiling back brightly. "You don't have to hurry."

"Thanks."

"You okay, Copter?" Tee asked, seeming to have picked up on Copter's worsening condition. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," Copter lied, hoping that he sounded convincing enough. "I think it might be something that I ate for lunch."

"Okay, let us know if it gets worse," Tee gave in, although the concern on his face didn't subside.

After responding with a confirmatory nod, Copter briskly made his way to the restroom down the hallway. He stumbled inside as soon as he arrived, barely able to shut the door behind him and lock it.

It felt like the room was spinning completely out of control and forcing all of his fears to tumble out of him. 

Copter squatted on the floor, trying to slow down his pulse, his breaths, _anything and everything_ , to something that he could cope with. It wasn't working though.

_Nothing was working._

A cackling voice that haunted his nightmares resonated deafeningly in his ears, breaking down all his walls and pushing his mind off the cliff.

_No. You got it wrong, idiot. It's your fault, not mine._

_If it wasn't for you, then none of this would have happened._

_Don't pull anyone else into your sorry life, unless you want them to suffer too. You're too cursed to have anyone by your side._

Trembling by himself in the empty darkness, Copter stayed there for a long while, unaware of the flood of tears soaking his sleeves.

***

"Are you still feeling sick?" Kimmon asked.

"No," Copter said with a smile. "I feel much better."

Despite Copter's repeated reassurances, though, Kimmon still appeared as worried as he looked earlier today when he found out that Copter had fallen ill.

Rather fortunately for him, everyone had easily bought his flimsy lies about having an upset stomach. Grateful that no one had questioned him any further, Copter hadn't protested like he should have when they all demanded that he take the rest of the day off.

Honestly, looking back on it, it probably ended up being a good call. He really didn't have much energy left inside him after suffering through that unwanted meeting with Rich.

Of course, Copter felt terrible for being dishonest with his Pit-a-Pat family. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to reveal what had actually happened.

He didn't want to increase everyone's worries unnecessarily and, more than anything, he wasn't so inclined to dig up all his nasty history with Rich. Just thinking about his tragic past was sheer torture to him, and he really had quite enough of the people he loved getting involved with Rich in any way.

Upon Kimmon's insistence, Copter was currently laying down on Kimmon's bed, with Kimmon sitting right by his side. Seeing Kimmon's troubled expression hit him with a sharp pang of guilt once more. He felt a little tempted yet again to tell Kimmon the entire truth, but he couldn't risk exacerbating the situation.

Still feeling bad, Copter gently squeezed Kimmon's hand that had been holding onto his own. He smiled when Kimmon immediately returned the gesture.

"I can spend the night here, right?" Copter asked, his hopeful gaze meeting Kimmon's soft one.

A flash of disbelief briefly crossed Kimmon's features. "You actually thought I was going to send you away?" he said before releasing a light chuckle. "I'm not letting you go anywhere. You're staying right here, right where I can take care of you."

"Okay," Copter willingly agreed, chuckling in return.

"So go to sleep now," Kimmon said, his gentle fingers brushing Copter's bangs to the side. "You need more rest."

Copter obediently closed his eyes, feeling his heart warming. He always loved and appreciated the doting attention that he received from Kimmon, but, he realized that, right now, he craved for it so very much, way more than ever.

Not long after, Copter was close to drifting off to sleep under Kimmon's caring watch. His eyes shot open, though, when he sensed Kimmon suddenly letting go of his hand and moving away from him.

"Where are you going?" Copter asked, trying to conceal the panic creeping back inside him.

Kimmon looked quite surprised by Copter's alarmed reaction. His expression quickly loosened, though, as he sat back down in an instant.

"To get you some water," Kimmon explained, looking sorry for waking Copter up.

"It's okay," Copter declined. "You don't have to. I'm not thirsty."

Copter stared intently at Kimmon, who was now caressing the back of his hand with his thumb soothingly. He struggled to swallow the needy words that threatened to fall out of his mouth.

_Don't go anywhere, P'Kim. Don't leave me._

"Come lay down with me?" Copter asked instead.

At once, Kimmon complied with his seemingly random request. Fitting perfectly next to Copter's body, Kimmon wrapped his arms around him, carefully pulling him close to his chest. 

Copter snuggled into him more, feeling a little better as they started to breathe in unison. He gave out a weak chuckle when Kimmon sprinkled kisses on his temple.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Copter whispered.

"Of course," Kimmon said with another kiss. "I'll be right here."

After burying his head into Kimmon's chest, Copter closed his eyes once more. He tried to take comfort inside Kimmon's warm embrace, wishing that he could stay safely there forever. Yet, the fears that had imprisoned him earlier in the day wouldn't free him from their suffocating chains.

He kept wondering whether his encounter with Rich was meant as an omen, something that foreshadowed the punishment he would get for wanting too much in his cursed life. He couldn't let go of Kimmon, though, not yet, not ever. He would literally do anything not to lose him, and he wouldn't even dare to ask for anything more than what he was blessed with right now.

_So please_ , Copter silently prayed to any deities that could hear his desperate begging. _Please don't take him away from me._

***


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The day flew by so quickly that it was almost all a blur at this point.

Of course, Kimmon had expected it somewhat, having heard stories about how crazy a wedding day can get. Although not as busy as the bride and groom, as the best man, he had to scrabble around the venue since early morning. Indeed, he literally hadn't had a minute to sit down and rest, given the whirlwind of back-to-back activities: taking part in a countless number of group photos, delivering the ring safely to his brother during the ceremony, giving a witty best man speech at the reception, etc.

Seeing the newly married couple and all the guests genuinely enjoy their time made it all worth the effort though.

In a way, Kimmon still couldn't believe that Mai and Tao had finally tied the knot together. As someone who had witnessed all their ups and downs from the very beginning of their relationship, Kimmon honestly felt a little dazed.

If he had been who he was a year ago, a man who had been foolishly trapped inside a habitual unrequited love, he might have been drowning in a pool of bitter tears right now. He wasn't that same man though, and he felt only sincere happiness for the newlyweds, all thanks to the person sitting beside him.

At that last thought, Kimmon turned his head to the right. His heart bounced in his chest when their gazes locked and the smile on Copter's lips grew.

There was about an hour left before the after party started, which was just enough time for everyone to catch their breaths and recover for the next big activity.

For Kimmon, it also happened to be the perfect time to execute what he considered his most important event of the day.

Needing a place where they could be left to themselves, Kimmon had brought Copter to a secluded garden right behind the venue. He had taken mental note of the spot as soon as he had come across it this morning, thinking that Copter would very much appreciate the botanical scenery.

Judging by the awed expression on Copter's beaming face, it seemed that he had made the right choice. Now he only hoped that he could keep up the good momentum.

"Did you enjoy the day so far?" Kimmon started off.

"Yeah! It was fun," Copter said, his smiling face alight with joy. "And I'm glad that I was able to take part in their special day. P'Tao and P'Mai look so happy together."

"Yeah, they do," Kimmon agreed easily. "I think this is the happiest that I've ever seen them."

"Yeah?"

Kimmon spotted a somewhat passable opening for his next plan of action. "You know, you can too," he said.

Raising his eyebrows, Copter shot him a puzzled look. "Can what?"

"Be happy," Kimmon said while settling his gaze on Copter. "By getting married."

"Is that right?" Copter questioned, tilting his head with feigned ignorance.

Kimmon eagerly nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Copter broke out into an amused chuckle. "You make it sound like I can get married anytime that I want."

"You can."

"Nah, I don't think so," Copter disagreed. "It's not like I can just go walk down the aisle by myself. It takes two to get married."

"Well, what if I told you that I know someone who could solve that problem for you?" Kimmon offered quickly.

With a playful glint in his eyes, Copter acted dumb again. "Really? Who?"

"The guy sitting right next to you," Kimmon said, shamelessly pointing at himself. "He'd be more than willing to take your hand and walk down the aisle with you. Even right now, if you want."

"Huh," Copter contemplated before giving out another grin. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure he's the guy who hired a fake boyfriend because he didn't want to get married."

"But that was before that guy realized he was in love with you."

"Did he really?" Copter teased, laughing.

Despite his nervous state, Kimmon couldn't help but smile along with Copter. It seemed that Copter was in the best of moods right now, which meant that this was probably a good time to switch up the atmosphere.

Before Copter could continue their sweet banter, Kimmon stood up and repositioned himself in front of Copter. Laying one knee on the ground, he gazed up at Copter, who appeared taken aback by Kimmon's sudden movement.

"P'Kim?"

It was now or never.

Silently gulping, Kimmon took out the velvet box from his pocket and popped it open.

"Copter," Kimmon began, trying to control the tremors in his voice but failing. "I love you so much, and I really can't imagine the rest of my life without you. I want to spend all of my remaining days with you by my side. Will you marry me?"

The seconds of silence that followed were torture.

Looking like he was paralyzed from shock, Copter just kept staring at him, utterly speechless. Kimmon met his widened eyes, wanting to give Copter all the time he needed to process everything.

He felt like his poor heart would end up exploding, though, if Copter didn't say something soon.

Of course, it wasn't like he was expecting Copter to jump into his arms and scream yes right away, but why did it feel like the silence was dragging on way too freaking long?

"P'Kim," Copter finally said, his voice hushed.

As he anxiously studied Copter's body language, Kimmon felt his stomach tighten. While biting his lower lip, Copter was casting his gaze down to his lap, where his hands were fidgeting with the hems of his sleeves.

_Something wasn't right._

"I don't think I'm ready for this."

At Copter's final answer, Kimmon's heart sank.

"Ready?" Kimmon echoed.

"I don't have anything right now," Copter mumbled, still avoiding Kimmon's eyes. "I just barely figured out how to manage my life, and I have a long way to go. I'm still saving up to get my own place. And that's not going to happen until after I help support Neng and Pink through college."

Kimmon tried his best to understand Copter's explanation, but it didn't make that much sense to him.

"Why does that matter?" Kimmon asked, choosing his words with caution. "I can help you take care of that. Everything that I have is yours."

Glancing at Kimmon, Copter frowned. "I don't want that. I want to be able to stand on my own."

_So his pride was the problem?_

"If that's the issue, then I won't do anything," Kimmon said as calmly as possible. He didn't want to sound petulant, but he was still having a difficult time fully getting Copter's point. "We can find a place that we can pay for together. We can split all our finances in half. Then will you marry me?"

The corners of Copter's mouth fell down even more. "P'Kim."

That was when the scary realization hit him.

"You don't want to marry me."

He wished that Copter would deny his words in an instant. 

_Please._

Kimmon stared at him, pouring out his desperation through his eyes, but Copter looked away again.

"We're fine as we are now," Copter mumbled. "Aren't we?"

Kimmon inhaled a sharp breath. Bitter disappointment began to well up rapidly inside him.

"So I'm the only one wishing for more?"

"I never said that."

"Then what?"

Copter let out a small sigh. "P'Kim, it's too soon."

"Too soon? Then tell me when," Kimmon pressed, feeling his patience barely hanging on by a thread.

"...I don't know."

Another moment of tense silence dropped over them. It was so much more suffocating this time around, though, neither of them readily volunteering to break it.

After a while that seemed like forever, Kimmon slowly got up from the ground. "Okay," he muttered.

Copter stood up with him immediately, looking very apologetic. 

At any other time, Copter's sorry puppy eyes would have been enough to make Kimmon cave in and disregard his own troubles. He wasn't able to do that right now, though, the hurt from the situation consuming him entirely.

Copter didn't want to marry him, and Kimmon couldn't stop himself from wondering if it was because Copter didn't love him enough to want to make that special commitment with him.

He really couldn't imagine his future without Copter, but what if Copter didn't feel the same way?

"P'Kim," Copter started to say.

Kimmon cut him off, wanting to end their conversation. "No, it's okay," he forced out, wincing a little when he could hear the dejection in his voice. "I got carried away. Forget that I said anything."

Shoving the rejected rings back into his pocket, Kimmon turned around and walked away.

***

"Did something happen between you and P'Kim?"

Unable to tolerate the uncomfortable quiet any longer, Tee finally blurted out the question that he'd been dying to ask that entire evening.

He had sensed that something was amiss ever since Kimmon and Copter arrived at the after party, each of them looking miserable as fuck.

In contrast to their usual sappy lovey-dovey selves, they had barely interacted throughout the evening, let alone stand next to each other. Then later, towards the end of the party, Copter had even asked Tae and Tee if they could give him a ride back home and Kimmon hadn't stopped Copter from leaving with them.

Based on all that hard evidence, Tee was over a hundred percent certain that the two had a serious fight.

Tee shifted his worried gaze back to Copter's reflection in the rear-view mirror. 

Copter still looked like he was going to break out into tears any second now. Although he knew that he really shouldn't jump to conclusions, that image alone made Tee want to smack Kimmon for making Copter sad, even if it all turned out to be Copter's fault.

Picking up on Copter's hesitation, Tee coaxed him further. "You know, you can tell us anything."

He shot a knowing look at Tae, trying to discreetly recruit him for additional assistance. To his satisfaction, Tae got his message right away.

"Yeah, maybe we can help if something did happen," Tae added, his tone friendly.

After a few more lasting seconds, Copter reluctantly confessed.

"P'Kim proposed to me."

"What?!"

That was definitely not what he was expecting to hear. The startled expression on Tae's face indicated that he felt the same way.

_Man, P'Kim just couldn't wait, huh?!_

At any other time, Tee would have burst out into amused laughter, but Copter's kicked puppy face stopped him from doing so.

"So then, what's the problem?" Tae asked, stealing Tee's question.

"I told him that I wasn't ready," Copter mumbled.

_Oh shit._

"And P'Kim got upset?" Tee guessed.

"I think I hurt him," Copter said, sounding even more distressed. "It's my fault."

"It's not," Tee reassured him.

"Yeah, Kim probably just needs some time to think things through," Tae joined.

Notwithstanding their efforts, Copter's gloomy expression remained unchanged. He crumpled into the seat with his head hung low, looking like he wanted to disappear from existence.

Tee frowned as he kept observing Copter. If his miserable state continued, he was planning to move to the back of the car and scoop Copter into his arms.

"Did you tell him why you weren't ready?" 

At Tee's question, Copter visibly flinched. "Not everything," he eventually admitted.

"Then tell him everything," Tee said, realizing what the problem was. "Otherwise, P'Kim might be thinking that you don't love him enough to want to marry him."

Shock crossed Copter's features. "What? But that's not true."

"He won't know that for sure unless you tell him," Tae said sternly.

"Yeah," Tee agreed. "And I'm sure that if you talk it out with him, if you tell him your truth and how much you love him, everything will be fine."

Copter fell silent for another minute or so, looking lost in thought. "P'Tae, can you drop me off at P'Kim's place?" he ultimately requested, his tone anxious. "I want to make up with him."

"Of course," Tae said before swerving the car in another direction.

"Thank you."

Tee felt a smile tugging at his lips, relief filling him up when he saw that Copter looked a little less troubled than before. He exchanged glances with Tae, who shared a matching smile. 

***


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"I never thought I'd live to see this happening."

Noting the hint of mild amusement in Kevin's voice, Kimmon narrowed his eyes at Kevin with suspicion.

"See what happening?"

"To see you propose to someone but then get rejected," Kevin reminded him once more, the smirk on his face showing that he was obviously teasing.

Kimmon groaned loudly before slouching forward again, his cheek laid flat against the table. "You don't have to keep rubbing it in my face."

"I don't," Kevin agreed. "But I can't help it."

The ensuing sound of Kevin's chuckles made Kimmon start to regret coming to Kevin's apartment that night.

Distraught by the lasting pain from Copter's rejection, Kimmon had unintentionally given Copter somewhat of a cold shoulder throughout the entire evening. He really hadn't meant to and had even begun to despise himself for making Copter look so miserable. Yet, he had needed some more time to fully recover.

Kimmon's plans to reconcile with Copter during their ride back home had been thwarted, though, when Copter had decided to leave the party with Tae and Tee instead of with him. Unable to even try to stop Copter from leaving, Kimmon had felt much more depressed at that point.

As if by fate, Kevin, a family friend who he'd known since childhood, had run into him right then and there. Not wanting to be alone with his brooding thoughts, he had instantly accepted Kevin's friendly offer to catch up and have some more drinks at his place.

Who knew that it would wound up being one of his poorer life decisions, especially if Kevin continued to mock him like this?!

"Why are you so obsessed with the idea of marriage anyways?"

At Kevin's sharp question, Kimmon weakly lifted his gaze. Kevin stared back at him, his expression fraught with a little bit of incomprehension.

"You know that it's not the happy ending in fairy tales, right?" Kevin resumed in a more serious tone. "Marriage is just another stage in a relationship, and there's no guarantee that it stays happy. It could get ugly, real fast. I mean, look at all the people who get divorced these days. You don't think that a lot of them were happily in love before they got married?"

"Yeah, I know," Kimmon mumbled faintly.

"You do? Then why do you want to get married to him right now?" Kevin inquired further, his eyebrows shooting up. "You guys only dated for, what, just over three months now?"

Kimmon felt a frown twitch at the corners of his mouth. "I've been in love with him for much longer. Why does that even matter?"

Kevin emitted a sigh. "I guess it really doesn't matter, but still...don't you think it's too fast?"

"Is it?" Kimmon considered for a brief moment before shaking his head. "I just...I don't know. I just want to be with him more."

"I thought you worked with him too?"

"It's not enough."

"Ugh," Kevin let out, playfully scrunching up his face with false disgust. "Okay, then why don't you just ask him to live with you?"

"He said that he doesn't want to right now."

"So that's why you were pushing for marriage?"

"Turns out that he's not ready for that either," Kimmon muttered sadly. He hesitated for a little while before voicing out one of his most dreaded concerns. "Do you think he's tired of me?"

"Well, if you're always acting like this big clingy baby, then maybe?" Kevin teased.

When Kimmon slumped even more in response, Kevin gave out another long-suffering sigh before reaching over to pat Kimmon on the shoulder. At Kevin's comforting touches, Kimmon turned his gaze back to him.

"P'Kim, I'm kidding," Kevin said, giving out a reassuring smile when their eyes met. "Stop overthinking. He said that he's not ready right now, and that's probably all he meant. Come on, Copter's still so young, and it makes sense that he wants some time to figure out his life on his own."

"I get it, I do. And I have no idea why I'm acting like this," Kimmon confessed honestly, feeling helpless and stupid at the same time. "I don't want to, but it's like...I can't think straight when it comes to him."

"Maybe it's because you're in that super sappy honeymoon phase of your relationship," Kevin guessed. "You know, those feelings will start to wear off eventually."

Kimmon rapidly sprung up at those words, making Kevin jump in surprise. "You think Copter will end up falling out of love with me?!" he yelped, very alarmed.

"No!" Kevin denied after recovering from his jolt. He looked like he was split between laughing and rolling his eyes. "I was talking about you, idiot, and all the mushy emotions that you're feeling right now. As time goes by, those feelings won't be as crazy as they are now."

"I don't think that's possible for me," Kimmon disagreed at once, relaxing his posture as his panic subsided.

"Okay, Mr. Romanticist-of-the-Century. Then be a sap for fucking forever," Kevin grumbled under his breath. When Kimmon wilted over the table again, he gaped at him in disbelief. "Wait, why are you moping again?!"

"I miss him," Kimmon whined. "So much."

Kevin slapped his hand to his forehead, acting like he just sprouted a massive headache.

"Oh god. What happened to the cool P'Kim that I grew up with?!"

Kimmon blatantly ignored Kevin's exaggerated shrieks. "Do you think he's sleeping?" he wondered as he frantically fished out his phone from his bag. Upon realizing that his phone wasn't turning on, Kimmon gasped. "What the fuck, why is my phone dead?!"

"Well, it's a good thing that it's dead," Kevin said. "It's almost 4 AM. If Copter wasn't thinking of breaking up with you, he will if you wake him up now."

Kimmon snapped his head towards Kevin. "What?!"

"I'm joking."

"Don't even joke about that," Kimmon growled, looking daggers at him.

"Okay, okay," Kevin conceded while raising his palms in surrender. "But are you almost done moping now?" he added, his tone begging. "I don't know about you, but I really need my beauty sleep."

"What? You don't want to spend all night with me?" Kimmon asked, tilting his head jokingly.

"Hell no," Kevin rejected right away. "But I'll let you sleep on my sofa tonight, if you're too tired to head back."

Kimmon broke out into a grateful smile. "Thanks for offering, but I'll leave you in peace now."

"You sure?"

Kimmon nodded. With new purpose, he promptly stood up and began to gather all his belongings.

"Yeah. I'm going to drop by my place to change clothes and then head over to Copter's."

"You're really going to wake him up now?!"

"Of course not," Kimmon said. "I'm just going to wait outside his place until it's time for us to head to the café. I pick him up every morning, and I don't want to miss it accidentally by oversleeping."

He sped up his movements, feeling his mood brightening up by the prospect of meeting Copter in a few hours.

"So P'Mai and Bas weren't lying when they told me that you became super gross."

Kimmon paused momentarily to throw Kevin an offended glare.

"You guys still gossip about me behind my back?!"

"Always," Kevin revealed, a satisfied grin spreading across his features. "That's why the three of us still get along so well."

At that, Kimmon couldn't keep up his upset scowl for long. He ended up chuckling, concluding that his decision to hang out with Kevin for the night wasn't such a bad idea after all.

***

Having finally parked in front of his apartment building, Kimmon reconfirmed the time showing on the clock of his car. He calculated yet again how much time he had left until his usual pickup time.

Really, he couldn't wait to see Copter again and make up with him this time around. If this fight (or argument or whatever the fuck this was) lasted any longer, Kimmon was pretty sure that it'd soon become the death of him.

After taking a minute to rub his tired eyes, Kimmon unplugged his phone from his car charger, figuring that it should have enough power now to turn back on. His jaw immediately dropped, though, when he discovered the flood of missed call notifications and text messages that popped up on the screen.

_What in the world?!_

His worry steadily consuming him, Kimmon was just about to take a closer look at all the messages when an incoming call from Bas flashed on the screen.

"P'Kim! Where the fuck are you?!" Bas angrily screamed as soon as Kimmon picked up his call.

Kimmon winced at Bas's roaring volume. "I'm heading back home now," he said as he got himself out of his car.

"Why the hell weren't you picking up your phone?"

"It died on me earlier," Kimmon explained, feeling his heart pound faster when he detected the anxiety in Bas's voice. "Why, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"We thought something happened to you!" Bas yelled. "No one could get a hold of you, and no one knew where you were."

"I was just having a few drinks at Kevin's place."

"P'Kevin? What the hell, was his phone dead too?!"

"I don't know. I guess? What's going on?" Kimmon asked again, his fear rising by the second.

"Well, we all assumed that you were probably okay, but P'Ter. He's been waiting for you at your place the entire night, and he wouldn't stop freaking out."

"What?"

As he listened to Bas's distressed relaying of the situation, Kimmon quickened his steps, practically sprinting his way over to his apartment. He cursed silently when the elevator seemed to take ages to get him up to his floor.

"Shit, P', I've never seen him act like that before. He was in hysterics, and I couldn't calm him down. I'm actually on my way to your apartment right now. I don't think P'Ter should be alone."

Once he finally arrived at the hallway of his apartment, Kimmon came to an abrupt halt. He spotted a lone figure of someone crouched right in front of his door, his face entirely buried in his lap.

_Copter._

"No need to come over," Kimmon said quietly to Bas, his concerned gaze fixed on Copter's hunched up figure. "I just arrived, and I see him now. I'll call you back."

After hanging up on Bas, Kimmon carelessly crammed his phone back into his bag and resumed his footsteps. Copter remained motionless, as though he wasn't aware that someone was approaching him.

"Copter," Kimmon called out when there were only a few steps between them. "Why are you out here and not inside?"

There was still no response from Copter. Biting his lips, Kimmon advanced a little closer and tried again.

"Copter?"

To Kimmon's partial relief, this time, Copter raised his head. His swollen eyes widened when they latched onto Kimmon, and he bolted up from the ground.

"P'Kim!"

Upon seeing Copter stumble towards him, Kimmon instantly lunged forward. He caught Copter in his arms just before he toppled over, but Copter didn't seem to realize that his legs weren't working properly. All his attention was zeroed in on Kimmon.

Copter's eyes and hands kept frantically searching all over Kimmon, as if he were making sure that Kimmon was really in front of him. Kimmon stayed frozen in place, feeling his heart split open when he got a good look at Copter's face.

"Why are you crying?" Kimmon managed to ask.

Pain gripping him more and more at the sight, Kimmon lifted his hands to cradle Copter's wet cheeks. He began to brush away Copter's tears, which, to his dismay, didn't seem to stop flowing.

At his question, Copter jerked his gaze to meet Kimmon's. The expression on his face changed from panicked worry to hysterical fury in a second flat.

Copter started to wildly push at Kimmon, but his shoves were too weak to move Kimmon away. "I told you that I didn't want to go through this again," he cried furiously. "I told you!"

Waves of shock struck him as he silently watched Copter explode. Kimmon had seen Copter crying a few times before, but it was nothing like this.

_This hurt. So fucking much._

He had felt his heart breaking before, but, seeing Copter like this right now, it felt like someone was trying to rip his heart out of his chest over and over again.

Kimmon attempted to meet Copter's teary eyes, but they weren't looking back at him. "Copter."

"I....I thought something bad happened to you," Copter kept sobbing. "I thought you weren't going to come back to me. I thought I lost you."

"Shh...it's okay. Nothing happened," Kimmon said, trying his best to calm Copter down. "I'm right here with you. See?"

His attempts weren't working though. In fact, it appeared to have made it worse, judging by how Copter's crying grew louder.

"I don't want to lose you. I can't. I'm sorry. Don't leave me."

"I won't leave you. I'm not going anywhere."

Kimmon gently pulled Copter towards him and wrapped him up completely in his arms. He murmured endless words of comfort and love into his ear, holding Copter's trembling body tightly against his.

No matter what he did, though, Copter wouldn't stop crying.

***


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

An unbreakable quiet filled the entire apartment, the only sounds being their soft breathing.

Tightly nestled together on the couch, Kimmon kept monitoring Copter's condition, feeling more and more relieved when it seemed that Copter's sobs had died down all the way.

Copter was so delicate and pliant in his arms, all curled up into him and settled right against his chest. Kimmon held him closer, placing butterfly kisses to wherever his lips could reach.

In this position, it felt like he was so much bigger than Copter, in a way that allowed Kimmon to surround him completely and protect him from the world. He wished he could do just that, to shield Copter from anything and everything that could cause him to break apart.

He didn't want to see Copter shatter into pieces like that ever again. 

_Once was more than enough._

After a lasting stretch of time, Copter began to stir a little.

"P'Kim," Copter broke the silence at long last, his voice so hoarse that it made Kimmon ache inside. "When I said that I wasn't ready, I was telling you the truth. I didn't tell you everything, though, even when I should have."

Sensing that Copter was struggling to pour out his whole story, Kimmon remained silent. He gently propped his chin on top of Copter's head, his ears wide open.

"I just...you're so good to me, and I want to be good to you too," Copter continued, sounding disheartened. "I want to give you as much as you give me everyday, but I can't. I don't have anything."

"But you do give me as much," Kimmon disagreed immediately. "Copter, you make me so happy. Loving you and having you by my side is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"That doesn't feel like enough," Copter muttered while shaking his head slightly. "And it's not just the fact that I'm financially broke. Even worse, I'm completely broken inside. You just saw how much of a mess I am."

"You're not a mess."

"I am."

A distressed sigh left Copter's mouth. He faltered momentarily, as if trying to collect all his cluttered thoughts, before proceeding with his long confession.

"I lied, P'Kim," Copter said. "I didn't want you to keep worrying about me, so I told you that I was okay. I pretended that I was getting better, but I'm not. I don't know when I'll ever be okay. I'm still scared. I still feel like I'm cursed, and I still feel like I'm pushing my luck by hanging onto you."

Feeling Copter start to shiver once again, Kimmon tightened his arms, pulling him more towards him. A pang of guilt hit him at the fact that he hadn't realized just how much Copter had been suffering by himself this whole time.

Copter pushed on, his volume decreasing to a fragile whisper.

"I have a lot of nightmares. They all go back to the day when I woke up in the hospital and found out that I lost my parents. Lately, though, they've been turning into ones where I lose you, and those nightmares...they've been haunting me. That's probably why I freaked out just now because I thought...I thought that my nightmares came true."

"They didn't come true," Kimmon assured him, his hands gingerly stroking Copter's trembling body. "You didn't lose me. I'm right here with you."

Copter drew out another heavy breath. "See, I'm still so pathetic. And I wanted to become a better person before I take that next step with you. But I don't know if that's going to be possible and..."

"Shh...no, it's my fault," Kimmon gently hushed him, interrupting Copter before he could spiral too far. "I promised that we'll take things slow, but I broke that promise. I tried to rush everything when I shouldn't have."

Whimpering faintly, Copter burrowed his face further into Kimmon's chest. "I hate that I'm like this. I wish that I could be someone better for you. Someone who's not so goddamn messed up and insecure like this," he confessed, his tone weary. "What if you get tired of me and all of my mess?"

"That won't happen. I'll never get tired of you."

When Copter didn't respond back for a worrisome while, Kimmon shifted their bodies so that they were now facing each other. With Copter perched comfortably on his lap, Kimmon held his gaze, steady and unblinking.

"Copter, I love you for all that you are," Kimmon declared resolutely. "Every single part of you, even all the parts that you don't seem to like."

His thumbs caressing Copter's damp cheeks, Kimmon sent him a smile. He hoped that he could strongly convey all the love in his heart, if not through his words then by his actions.

"I'm far from perfect," Kimmon opened up. "I haven't loved anyone as much as I love you, and I haven't been in a relationship where I wanted it to last forever. I really had no idea what I was doing, what I should be doing. So I got impatient. I got too caught up in some marriage fantasy, thinking that it was the only way to keep you with me. When I should have just focused on you and what we have right now. It was stupid."

Reflecting on his foolish behavior, Kimmon let out an embarrassed laugh. To say that it was stupid was most likely a huge understatement.

"But you still love me, right? Despite how stupid I'm being?" Kimmon finished.

At his last question, the corners of Copter's mouth turned up in the hint of a smile. His teary gaze settled on Kimmon, Copter cradled the back of Kimmon's hands with his palms, leaving them pressed against his cheeks.

"I love you, P'Kim," Copter murmured sweetly, making Kimmon's heart melt. "So much. Don't ever doubt that, okay?"

Kimmon's smile grew larger. "Okay," he whispered back. "If you promise me the same."

Upon seeing Copter's nod of agreement, Kimmon tugged him closer. He began to lavish him with kisses all over his forehead, moving down to his eyes and his nose. He internally cheered when, at last, he heard the sound of Copter's chuckles.

"Now there's my favorite smile."

After tracing Copter's deepening dimples with his fingertips, Kimmon kissed each one before bringing their mouths together. The kiss was gentle and sweet, the soft pressure of their lips lingering as they smiled against each other.

"P'Kim," Copter said, after pulling back just far enough to look into Kimmon's eyes. 

Noting the hesitation on Copter's features, Kimmon wordlessly threaded his fingers through Copter's hair, giving Copter the time he needed.

"I lied about something else too," Copter started out with an apologetic expression. "The day I got sick last week. It wasn't because of a stomach ache, but it was because I met someone at the café. Someone who I didn't want to see ever again."

Not having expected to hear anything even close to that, Kimmon straightened up, locking his concerned gaze with Copter's.

_Someone who he didn't want to see ever again?_

Kimmon pored over the various theories that were wildly running through his mind. Tension gradually built up in his body from a sense of unease, which only heightened when he caught the traces of distress on Copter's face.

Copter fell silent for a minute, looking like he had a difficult time disclosing more information. It even seemed as if he'd prefer dropping the issue right then and there. Yet, Kimmon couldn't let him, especially if this turned out to be one of the major sources of all his stress.

"Can you tell me who it was?" Kimmon ended up pressing.

Averting his gaze away, Copter ultimately conceded the truth. "He's someone who bullied me throughout high school. And he was right there when...he was part of the reason why I...I lost my parents..." he stuttered, eventually trailing off.

Grimacing, Copter clenched his eyes shut, as though the mere recollection of those memories viciously clawed him apart.

Feeling his chest constrict, Kimmon quickly gathered Copter back into his arms, massaging soothing circles onto his back. As he waited for the worst of Copter's emotions to pass, he had to wrestle with his own burning anger that was dangerously erupting inside him.

_How fucking dare he._

He couldn't believe the nerves of that asshole to saunter into his territory and hurt his precious Copter, as if it weren't already enough that he had tried to ruin him in the past.

For the first time, he literally wanted to punch the life out of someone that he'd never seen before and forever threaten him with a taste of his karma.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get involved in any way with him," Copter continued after calming down somewhat. "But seeing him messed me up even more."

"Did he come by again?" Kimmon asked, attempting to act levelheaded.

"No, but I'm scared that he will," Copter admitted, his arms clenching onto Kimmon tighter. "I'm scared that he's going to try to take everything away from me again."

"I won't let him," Kimmon vowed. He retracted back a bit and guided Copter's uncertain gaze to meet his. "Copter, I won't let him do anything to you. To us."

Copter sagged, appearing more or less defeated. "I wish I were strong enough to deal with him on my own."

"You don't have to deal with him on your own. You have me," Kimmon reminded him. "So promise me that you won't try to tackle this by yourself. That you won't try to hide anything from me going forward."

Copter stared at Kimmon with an unreadable expression, not saying a word. Something that he saw on Kimmon's face must have subdued his fears, though, because, a moment later, he gave out a small smile.

"Okay, I promise," Copter committed quietly. He then ducked his gaze for a brief second, looking like he was going through an internal debate, before returning his attention back to Kimmon. "Then one more thing."

Recognizing the signs of another impending revelation, Kimmon mentally braced himself.

Of course, he was very happy that Copter was sharing all these things with him, wishing to be that one person in Copter's life with whom he'd feel comfortable divulging everything. Yet, given how Copter's confessions happened to get progressively worse in severity tonight, he honestly felt a tidbit worried about what would attack him next.

"There's something else?" Kimmon prompted.

Copter gnawed on his lower lip, his reluctance still evident. "Remember when we were on that trip to the beach? When we were walking through the flea market?"

His head spinning with guesses as to where Copter was heading next, Kimmon nodded.

"Yeah?"

"I lied then too. I told you that the orange sunglasses looked better on you, but they didn't. The black ones looked much better. Also that bucket hat that I picked out for you? It looked really ugly on you, but I pretended that it looked amazing."

_Huh?_

A flashback of those special memories played in his head.

Above all else, Kimmon remembered feeling like he was on the top of the world during those particular moments.

Throughout the time that they had known each other, even after they had started dating, Copter had never really complimented him on his good looks. So, naturally, when Copter had kept praising him that afternoon, Kimmon had walked on air, greedily and proudly soaking up all of Copter's rare oohs and ahhs.

_But Copter hadn't really meant any of those adoring compliments?_

Overwhelmingly more confused than upset, Kimmon gaped at him. "Why did you lie?"

Switching to a sheepish expression, Copter fiddled with his fingers. "There were these ladies that kept staring at you, looking like they wanted to come over and flirt with you. So I was hoping that they'd be turned off after seeing your terrible fashion."

A few seconds clambered by until Kimmon exploded in laughter, his brain having fully processed Copter's endearing explanation at last.

"It's not funny!" Copter sulked, but his tiny smile betrayed his true feelings. "It's not!"

Kimmon couldn't stop laughing. Copter's revelation had thrown him into a myriad of emotions, with him now working through his disbelief at how his boyfriend could be so freaking adorable.

_Seriously, why was he so cute?!_

"What do I do with you?" Kimmon wondered out loud. Unable to resist, he promptly reached out to pinch Copter's cheeks. "And you really thought that I'd get tired of you? When you make me fall in love with you over and over again?"

"I made you wear the ugliest hat in existence, but you just fell in love with me again?" Copter countered back, shooting across a doubtful look.

"Absolutely," Kimmon confirmed, successfully bringing out a giggle from Copter. "Is there anything else to get off your chest?"

Smiling brighter, Copter began to cuddle back into him. "No, that's it," he said. "And there won't be any more lies from now on."

Gladly welcoming him in his arms, Kimmon showered a dozen kisses on Copter's head in return.

***


End file.
